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MMERCIAL TEST 

AND 

OW TO USE THEM 

CODY 



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COMMERCIAL TESTS AND 
HOW TO USE THEM 



SCHOOL EFFICIENCY MONOGRAPHS 

&nir tXBort 
Education of Defectives in the Public Schools 

Rural Education and the Consolidated School 

Problems in State High School Finance 

Commercial Tests and How to Use Them 

JSaton 
Record Forms for Vocational Schools 

The Public and Its School 

Standards in English 

jlfceartr 
An Experiment in the Fundamentals 

The Reconstructed School 

Witt* 
Newsboy Service 

STUrgmatt 
The Teaching of Spelling 






SCHOOL EFFICIENCY MONOGRAPHS 

COMMERCIAL TESTS 

AND 
HOW TO USE THEM 

BY 
SHERWIN CODY 

SECRETARY AND MANAGING DIRECTOR 

NATIONAL ASSOCIATED SCHOOLS 

OF SCIENTIFIC BUSINESS 




YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK 

WORLD BOOK COMPANY 
1919 






WORLD BOOK COMPANY 

THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE \\ 
Established, 1905, by Caspar W. Hodgson 

YONKERS-ON-HlJDSON, NEW YORK 

2126 Prairie Avenue, Chicago 

Publishers of the following professional works : 
School Efficiency Series, edited by Paul H. 
Hanus, complete in thirteen volumes; Edu- 
cational Survey Series, four volumes already 
issued and others projected ; School Efficiency 
Monographs, eleven numbers now ready, 
others in active preparation 



)CI.A512543 



SBM *. CCTHUT-I 



Copyright, 1919, by World Book Company 
All rights reserved 



IAD 



18 10 1919 






ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

Acknowledgment is made particularly for valuable sug- 
gestions contained in the Seventeenth Yearbook of the 
National Society for Study of Education, Part II, "The 
Measurement of Educational Products"; Educational 
Tests and Measurements, by Walter S. Monroe; Manual 
of Mental and Physical Tests, by Guy M. Whipple ; Edu- 
cational Measurements, by Daniel Starch. 

The National Business Ability Tests are reproduced 
by permission of the National Associated Schools of 
Scientific Business, Inc., of Chicago, publishers of the 
tests in separate form for testing purposes, and of addi- 
tional parallel restricted series for the use of schools and 
business houses. 



[v] 



CONTENTS 

PART ONE — A DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEM 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Schools and Business Employment 1 

II. The National Business Ability Tests 10 

III. The Principles of Scientific Tests 21 

IV. The National Tests in the Classroom 43 



PART TWO — THE TESTS 

V. Two Series of the National Business Ability 

Tests 56 

VI. Measuring Classes and Teachers 175 

Appendix 201 

Index 215 



[ vii] 



PART ONE — A DISCUSSION OF THE 
PROBLEM 

I 

THE SCHOOLS AND BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT 

Defective Preparation of Students 
the problem considered in chicago 

IN 1912, the author, then a member of the committee 
on education of the Chicago City Club, brought about 
the organization of a special joint committee of the 
Chicago Association of Commerce and the Board of Educa- 
tion. For a number of weeks this committee met every 
Thursday at the Union League Club, and it made a 
report in January, 1913. The business men made bitter 
criticisms of the schools, and the educators resented these 
criticisms as unjust. The fact is that the training which 
our schools give to the young people who enter business 
is seriously lacking in something. What is it? The 
New York Chamber of Commerce answers effectively in 
its report of June 27, 1917 : 

REPORT OF NEW YORK CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 

"Your committee first directed its studies to the public 
commercial high schools and their product, and while in 
the progress of this work it found many things where it 
believed improvement could and should be made, it was 
soon forced to the conclusion that higher education, to be 
valuable and effective, must be based upon sound and 
thorough elementary education, and there was ample 
evidence of weakness in this direction. 

[i] 



J 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

"Your committee's inquiries, both among the teachers 
of the commercial schools and among those employers 
who desire to employ their product, disclosed a wide- 
spread opinion that the charge of general inefficiency 
among the graduates is not without foundation; that a 
large proportion of them are deficient in practical working 
knowledge of fundamental subjects such as reading, writing, 
spelling, and grammatical construction of the English 
language, and arithmetic and geography ; that the educa- 
tion consists largely of a smattering of superficial knowl- 
edge without the power of clear, definite thought and expres- 
sion, and that they lack an appreciation of thoroughness, 
exactness, earnestness, and perseverance as factors in business 
success." 

NEEDS OF HIGH SCHOOLS AND OF BUSINESS THE SAME 

The New York Chamber of Commerce in speaking for 
the business world does not ask for any technical com- 
mercial training whatsoever, but simply asks for more 
efficiency in the regular work of the elementary schools. 
The high schools feel this need as well as do the business 
men. The preparation that is needed for business is very 
much the same as that which is needed to carry on the 
high-school studies. The business men cry out; the 
high schools are more quiet and patient, but are none the 
less sufferers. Both business men and high-school author- 
ities ask that the standard of accuracy be raised for 
common operations. This can be done only by measure- 
ment and competition, and above all by the use of a 
single national standard. 

Under the direction of the Superintendent a year or two 
ago a short test in arithmetic was given to students enter- 
ing the New York high schools. The examiner said that he 
himself was able to solve all the problems in six minutes. 

[2] 



THE SCHOOLS AND BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT 

Pupils were allowed forty minutes, yet it is reported that 
only 60 per cent of those who took the examination were 
able to pass it on a 60 per cent basis. In a district where 
two superintendents had been giving standardized tests, 
72 per cent passed. The conclusion was that the com- 
petition of tests was useful to stimulate pupils to do better 
work. 

The dean of freshmen of the New York Manual Train- 
ing High School has stated that 60 per cent of the young 
people who enter that school drop out during the first 
year. Evidently they are unprepared to meet the severer 
requirements of the high schools and wilt under the work 
they are obliged to face. 

Standard tests and short, intensive periods of hard work 
to prepare for those tests would tend to develop in students a 
hardness of fiber that would keep a larger percentage of them 
in school. 

PREPARATION OF GENERAL CLERKS 

In his report on commercial education in New York 
City, 1 Frank V. Thompson pointed out to the Board of 
Estimate and Control that among commercial employees, 
including sales clerks, only 15 per cent were stenographers 
or bookkeepers, while 85 per cent were in effect unrecog- 
nized in our system of commercial training. A survey 
made by the Cleveland Foundation showed that out of 
2000 positions for young men listed at the Cleveland 
Y. M. C. A., 8 per cent were for stenographers, 10 per cent 
for bookkeepers, and 78 per cent for office boys and gen- 
eral clerks. More than half the girls who enter upon 

1 Reprinted as Commercial Education in Public Secondary Schools, in 
School Efficiency Series, edited by Professor Paul H. Hanus and pub- 
lished by World Book Company. Mr. Thompson is now superintendent 
of schools in Boston. 

[3] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

office work become stenographers ; but this does not take 
into consideration the vast number of women sales clerks. 
We may be sure that 75 per cent of all commercial em- 
ployees are general clerks, who have had no special train- 
ing, little help in getting positions except through private 
employment agencies, and no recognizable rating of any 
sort among business men. 

As large numbers of those who become office boys and 
general clerks leave school at the end of the seventh, 
eighth, or ninth grades, their training should necessarily 
be chiefly on the fundamentals of English and arithmetic, 
which are the principal technical tools that they will need 
in business, i It is largely from the general clerks who start 
as office boys that the business executives who control our 
industry and commerce are developed. 

If standard tests on accuracy and speed in handling 
the common fundamentals could be used in schools and 
made the basis for an Efficiency Employment Register 
of those who leave school from any grade or year to go to 
work, these 75 per cent of office boys and general clerks 
would at last get something from the schools worth having 
in a vocational way, and the academic students going 
on through high school and college would be none the 
worse for the stimulation toward greater accuracy. 

HOW BUSINESS MEN JUDGE APPLICANTS FOR OFFICE 
POSITIONS 

In judging an applicant, the trained business man gets 
very important information through that first swift look 
which takes in dress, physical proportions, and the moral 
qualities of the applicant as they are stamped on his face. 

The applicant is usually required to fill out an appli- 
cation blank. In the best-organized business houses 
these blanks are coming to be quite complicated affairs. 

[4 ] 



THE SCHOOLS AND BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT 

A glance at the application blank shows penmanship, 
often it shows spelling, and in particular it shows power 
of mind and judgment in making answers. All these 
abilities are judged roughly. The very poor are imme- 
diately eliminated; but there is no very good way to 
distinguish between the persons worth say $6, and $8, 
and $10 a week, since the test of the application blank is 
practical rather than scientific. 

After these two tests — appearance and the written 
application — the business man at present falls back 
on trial and observation under working conditions. The 
constant shifting of employees is evidence that the two 
usual tests serve their purpose very imperfectly. 

COST OF CHANGING HELP 

If the employer knew the different combinations of 
ability in applicants, he could avoid changing help as 
often as he does. The cost of changing help in offices has 
not been accurately investigated; but careful figures 
compiled by a well-known firm of automobile makers 
show the cost of replacing a skilled mechanic to be over 
$80. First, there is the cost of finding the man and 
putting him on the pay-roll. Then, there is the cost of 
teaching him the special requirements of the particular 
position. It takes him a couple of weeks to learn where 
things are, and just what is wanted of him. When every- 
thing is taken into consideration, $80 seems a moderate 
estimate of the cost of changing an employee. 

EFFICIENCY INCREASED BY STANDARD MEASUREMENTS 

The efficiency of most office forces remains distinctly 
below what it ought to be. Some office forces are very 
superior, and some are very inferior, but no employer 
really knows how his force compares with others. 

[5] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

A general use of standard measurements would un- 
doubtedly reduce the turnover of office employees as 
much as 25 per cent, and so save thousands of dollars to 
employers. The efficiency of the office force could also 
be materially raised by the elimination of those below 
grade, who now dilute practically every collection of 
office employees. 

In times of shortage (war times, for example) our Effi- 
ciency Employment Register of those leaving school to 
go to work would make it possible to control and use the 
available supply so as to save a waste in distribution from 
present haphazard methods which, if estimated at 25 
per cent, would in effect add 500,000 employees to the 
2,000,000 who now leave school annually in the United 
States to go to work. 

ACCURACY ON FUNDAMENTALS AS VOCATIONAL 
EQUIPMENT 

The proper vocational equipment for three fourths of all 
commercial employees is accuracy and speed in handling 
figures, and correctness in spelling, punctuating, reproduc- 
ing instructions, and composing letters. 

All who go to the public schools study the fundamental 
subjects. What is wanted for business is a superior degree 
of mastery of such parts of them as will be used. How 
can these fundamental subjects be handled so as to give 
them a true vocational character? The answer is plain, 
— by measuring speed and accuracy in such a way that 
employers will award positions partly on the records of 
such measurements. The thing to do is to establish 
standards of measurement, and to issue a national em- 
ployment list that will record the measurements and make 
them available to employers. 

[6] 



THE SCHOOLS AND BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT 
COOPERATION BETWEEN EDUCATORS AND BUSINESS MEN 

It has been suggested that business men ought to take 
hold of our commercial schools and have such tests of 
ability to perform common operations in the business 
office substituted for the ordinary academic examinations. 
Part of the trouble is that educators know only in a 
general way what business men want. Quite as impor- 
tant is the fact that business men themselves know only 
in a general way what it is that they want. Neither side 
has analyzed the situation thoroughly. 

The author has long felt that the greatest need of com- 
mercial education is the hearty cooperation of business 
men and educators. While a member of the Committee 
on Education of the Chicago City Club, he conceived 
that this might be brought about by having the business 
men formulate standards of ability to perform common 
operations in the business office. These standards were 
to form the basis of tests on which the business men would 
be willing in part to base employment of graduates of 
the public schools, and which educators might use as a 
guide in training their pupils. 

Experience has shown that it is troublesome and 
difficult to give tests to applicants in the hurry of employ- 
ing them, especially when help is scarce and practically 
all who apply must be employed. What business men 
want is to have tests given in schools, or they want public 
tests so that they can call for the records and see at a 
glance the measure of an applicant's ability. 

EFFECTS OF MEASUREMENT 

The establishment of tests as part of the basis of em- 
ployment, as tests are now part of the basis of employ- 
ment in the civil service, will mobilize the forces of em- 

[7] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

ployment behind the public schools and no doubt will 
raise the standard of the pupils. The ability of the office 
boy and the general clerk will immediately become a 
marketable commodity; the business man will know 
what he is getting ; the young person of superior ability 
will secure prompt and intelligent recognition, whether 
or not he possesses the self-advertising qualities that now 
have so much weight with employers. 

A GRADED SCALE OF WAGES 

The almost inevitable effect of this measurement of 
fundamental ability will be the end of the present system 
of level pay for all beginners. As soon as employers 
begin to compete for the best talents, they will pay more 
for the good help, and less for the poor ; and where pupils 
are now satisfied with mere 60 or 70 per cent passing 
marks, they will then try to make the highest possible 
grades, since their ratings will make a difference in the 
pay at which they will be able to start to work. 

No business man, by looking at a boy or girl, or even 
by examining an application blank, can distinguish the 
person capable of getting 202 figures in the answers of a 
nine-minute arithmetic test with only one error, or the 
one getting 42 figures in nine minutes with 5 errors. Yet 
the arithmetic tests of 280 boys and girls graduating from 
one school district in New York would instantly show 
these actual records. By looking at the spelling of words 
on an application blank, a business man might pick out 
the boy who on a test misspelled 24 words out of 50 
common, easy terms ; but he probably would see no dif- 
ference between the boy who missed 7 words out of 50 
and was really a poor speller, and the one who missed 
none at all. The business man may distinguish between 
the stenographer who can transcribe 15 words a minute 

[8] 



'. 



THE SCHOOLS AND BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT 
with seven errors per hundred words and the one who 
can transcribe 57 words a minute with one error per 
hundred words; but he will see little difference between 
the girl who transcribes 25 words a minute with three 
errors, and the one who transcribes 37 words a minute 
with one error. He will probably pay both the same 
wages, whereas if the first one is worth $12 a week the 
second is worth $18 a week. It is very unwise to' pay 
both $15 a week, as is usually done. 

Many employers have been discouraged by the seeming 
indisposition of their employees to prepare themselves 
for higher positions. There can be no doubt that the 
substitution of definite conditions of promotion for vague 
promises will banish suspicions of favoritism and induce 
employees to strive for advancement. 

Give prospective employees in schools, and candidates 
tor promotion m business, something definite to work at 
m order to obtain the higher-grade positions, and they 
will promptly respond. 



[9] 



II 

THE NATIONAL BUSINESS ABILITY TESTS 

The Organization of a National Committee 
incorporation 

WITH a view to promoting efficiency both in schools 
and in business offices, a national committee was 
organized in 1913. It was the direct outgrowth of the 
meetings of the special joint committee of the Chicago 
Association of Commerce and the Board of Education. 
The committee consists one third of educators and two 
thirds of persons in business, with a large number equally 
interested in business and education, and with as many 
members as possible representing other national or- 
ganizations that would naturally coSperate. This com- 
mittee was incorporated under the laws of Illinois as 
the National Associated Schools of Scientific Business. 
It was not organized for profit directly or indirectly. 
The present officers are ex-Governor W. N. Ferris, presi- 
dent ; Gerald B. Wadsworth, advertising expert with A. W. 
Shaw Co., New York, vice-president ; Joseph Cummins, 
of Chicago, attorney and treasurer ; and Sherwin Cody, 
of Chicago and New York, managing director and secre- 
tary. On the board of trustees are Frank V. Thompson, 
superintendent of schools in Boston, one of the leading 
experts in the country on high-school commercial educa- 
tion; W. D. Lewis, principal of the William Penn High 
School in Philadelphia; B. F. Williams, president of the 
National Association of Accredited Schools, the strongest 
private business colleges in the country; E. A. Rumely, 
whose Interlaken School was a notable American educa- 
tional experiment; A. S. Hall, principal of the Medill 
High School, Chicago; Mrs. Anne F. Hickman, head of 

[ 10] 



THE NATIONAL BUSINESS ABILITY TESTS 

the stenographic department, Hume-Fogg High School, 
Nashville, Tennessee. Altogether, the committee includes 
some of the leading commercial educators of the coun- 
try. On the business side among the trustees are Col. C. 
A. Carlisle, of South Bend, long advertising manager of 
the Studebaker Corporation, and an independent system 
expert, and Herbert M. Temple, public accountant, St. 
Paul. During its working period the committee included 
E. H. McCullough, of Chicago, the efficient secretary of 
the National Implement and Vehicle Association; Wal- 
dron O. Rand, of Boston, chairman of the educational 
committee of the American Association of Public Ac- 
countants, which has long had a deep interest in com- 
mercial education; Dr. Katherine M. H. Blackford, 
now of New York, who attained national reputation as 
an employment expert with Harrington Emerson; C. A. 
Prosser, former secretary of the National Association for 
the Promotion of Industrial Education, now director of 
the Federal Board of Vocational Education, who was 
elected at the suggestion of Secretary Redfield; H. 
Walton Heegstra, advertising expert, Chicago ; and Paul 
Mandeville, wholesale produce merchant, Chicago. These 
have recently been replaced by E. St. Elmo Lewis, De- 
troit and New York; C. R. Hebble, executive secretary 
Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce; W. M. Jackson, 
formerly employment manager of the National City 
Bank of New York ; and David M. Roth, memory expert 
and chairman of the "Schools — miscellaneous" section of 
the National Association of Rotary Clubs. 

EARLIER TESTS 

This committee found in use two types of tests, (1) pure 
psychological tests such as the Binet-Simon tests or the 
tests since adopted for use with the United States Army, 

[in 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

and the tests devised by Professors Thorndike and Scott 
for the employment department of the Metropolitan Life 
Insurance Company; and (2) standardized educational 
tests used in school surveys, in the employment depart- 
ments of the National Cloak & Suit Company, the Curtis 
Publishing Company, and the Western Union Telegraph 
Company. The Courtis Tests in Arithmetic are fairly 
representative of these. 

DEVISING NEW TESTS 

The committee concentrated its attention on develop- 
ing and trying out -a series of elementary tests of ability 
to perform common operations in the business office. 
The purpose was to measure speed and accuracy, and 
also to determine the fundamental education which all 
office employment presupposes. A series of tests de- 
vised and printed in June, 1914, was tried by the em- 
ployment managers of the National Cloak & Suit 
Company, the National Cash Register Company, the 
Burroughs Adding Machine Company, the Common- 
wealth Edison Company, Swift and Company, and (in 
a limited way) Marshall Field and Company. 

These trials were made to determine what tests were 
practical, how long the tests needed to be, and what 
different kinds of tests were required. As a result, 20 
short, simple tests were devised, and these met with the 
unanimous approval of the employment managers of the 
houses that cooperated in the experiment. They were 
adapted to examining in about an hour's time the 
following classes of office employees on the points 
indicated : 

1 . Office boys and girls.. Fundamental education in add- 
ing, spelling, and writing a letter of application accord- 
ing to definite instructions ; a test to show mental alert* 

[12] 



THE NATIONAL BUSINESS ABILITY TESTS 

ness ; and a test to show power to concentrate the mind 
on business instructions and to reproduce them. 

2. General clerks, 16 years of age and older. Re- 
production of instructions; clerical accuracy in filling 
out blanks, such as a retail-store invoice; speed and 
accuracy in handling fractions by short-cut methods, 
and percentage; copying addresses and arranging them 
alphabetically ; writing a letter of application as directed. 

3. Stenographers of lowest grade. Reproduction ; ad- 
vanced spelling; elementary punctuation; copying a 
typewritten blank for mimeographing; taking a dictated 
letter in shorthand at 100 words a minute and transcrib- 
ing ; writing a full letter of application. 

4. Stenographers of secretarial class or beginning 
correspondents. Reproduction; full test on grammar 
and punctuation; advanced spelling; taking dictated 
letter and transcribing; composing three original letters 
in reply to inquiries referring to four pages of Wana- 
maker's catalogue. In this last test, the sheets from 
the catalogue were furnished in advance to the persons 
examined. The purpose was to see if they would notice 
that you cannot ship shoes without knowing the size 
desired, and that questions may be answered from the 
illustrations; whether they would use tact and patience 
in dealing with customers on trifling matters ; and whether 
they could compose and punctuate letters in good style. 

5. Bookkeeping clerks. Speed and accuracy in arith- 
metic; clerical accuracy in handling checks, notes, 
money-order applications, bank-deposit slips, and in- 
voice forms; copying addresses and alphabetizing. 
There were no technical questions on bookkeeping theory, 
because modern systems of bookkeeping are not generally 
taught in schools, and because to employers the important 
point is to get men of good material whom they can train. 

[13 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

BULLETIN NO. 1 

Twenty of these tests, revised and shortened, were 
published on March 20, 1915, in a 24-page pamphlet 
designated as "Bulletin No. 1." The revision resulted 
from suggestions made by a number of employment 
managers, and from a study of the tests used by the 
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, the National 
Cloak & Suit Company, and the Curtis Publishing Com- 
pany. At the same time the United States Bureau of 
Education sent out its Vocational Letter No. 5, which 
contained a report of the investigation and included an 
offer to furnish the tests on request. This report was 
printed in full in the New York Times and many other 
newspapers. In response to requests, Bulletin No. 1 
was widely distributed, particularly to schools, by the 
United States Bureau of Education. 

TRYING THE NATIONAL TESTS 

The next great problem was to develop a quick and 
easy way of grading and checking the tests, and to arrive 
at standards that would indicate what grades ought to 
be made and how they should be interpreted. The con- 
stant purpose was to eliminate the variable element of 
personal judgment. 

Dr. George D. Stray er, of Teachers College, Columbia 
University, head of the Commission on Tests of the 
United States Bureau of Education, laid down the general 
principles for grading and judging the tests. He approved 
the plan that was finally worked out and actually applied 
in 4169 separate experimental tests which were given to 
about 500 individuals through the courtesy of the follow- 
ing business houses and institutions : 

Marshall Field and Company; Swift and Company; 

[14] 



THE NATIONAL BUSINESS ABILITY TESTS 

Commonwealth Edison Company; Sears, Roebuck and 
Company; National Cash Register Company; Bur- 
roughs Adding Machine Company; Bureau of Credits, 
Detroit; National Cloak & Suit Company; Filene's, 
Boston; Boston Clerical High School; Cincinnati 
Chamber of Commerce (open, public test, mostly of 
high-school graduates) ; Chamber of Commerce, and 
Spencerian Business College, Newburgh, New York; 
Holyoke (Massachusetts) High School; Walla Walla 
(Washington) High School ; Y. M. C. A., Chicago (prize 
competition open to grammar and high-school graduates, 
150 entries) ; Wendell Phillips High School, Chicago (one 
test) ; Central School, Troy, New York (under inspec- 
tion of committee of business men). 

THE PERSONS TESTED 

The persons who took the tests were carefully selected 
as representatives of the special classes whose ability it 
was desired to standardize. The averages that were 
made are therefore very nearly typical for different 
parts of the country and probably for the country as a 
whole. They represent, however, the higher level. 

RESULTS OF THE TESTS 

The first test given in the office of the Burroughs Add- 
ing Machine Company was on spelling. A young woman 
who was working nights to become a dictaphone operator 
made an average of 59 per cent. It was instantly apparent 
that she could never succeed in writing letters from the 
dictaphone unless she first learned to spell, and that she 
and the company were wasting time. In another case 
the clerks in a bookkeeping department were shown to 
be distinctly below grade as a whole, due perhaps to an 
erroneous standard of employment. 

[15] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

It seems that in every business house there are in- 
telligent-looking persons who were hired because they 
appeared satisfactory and were agreeable, but whose 
capacities are far below the average. For example, in 
a bookkeeping department one person showed averages 
as follows, compared with the averages of the records of 
the department (his included) : 

Individual : Reproduction poor ; business papers, 44 
per cent; bookkeeping accuracy, 36 per cent; frac- 
tions, speed 17, errors 11. 

Department: Reproduction fair; business papers, 75 
per cent; bookkeeping accuracy, 73 per cent; frac- 
tions, speed 36, errors 5. 

In a very high-grade stenographic department, one girl 
alone showed the following comparison : 

Individual : Words per minute 15 ; errors 7. 

Department : Words per minute 49 ; errors 2. 

Another individual : Words per minute 57 ; errors none. 

In a high school which was at the head of the list on the 
bookkeeping and figuring tests, 18 stenographers out of 30 
fell below the standard minimum of 35 words a minute in 
transcribing shorthand notes, and those 18 averaged 12 
words a minute. One high school had a single stenog- 
rapher, out of 20, who was able to make 35 words a 
minute; while in another school only 5 out of 19 were 
not above 35. In still another high school none reached 
the 35-word minimum. 

It seems likely, though the tests were not given widely 
enough to prove it, that superiorities and weaknesses 
may be shown for different cities. Grammar-school 
graduates in one city showed a knowledge of elementary 
applied grammar that might be represented by 16 per 
cent. In general, however, not one grammar-school 
graduate in ten seems to have any knowledge whatever 

[16] 



THE NATIONAL BUSINESS ABILITY TESTS 

of grammar as applied in choosing the right form when 
the right and wrong are given on points of universal 
application, as in the test on page 114. 

It appears that correspondence is taught in schools 
chiefly as a matter of the form of the letter. In one 
high-grade correspondence department in a business 
house, the average rating on getting the facts right (on 
a scale of 5) was 4, or good. Among order writers and 
similar clerks in another department of the same con- 
cern, the average on facts was good, 3-J; in the local 
high school the average was poor, 2^. Tact among the 
business correspondents was good, 4 ; among the general 
clerks good, 3^-; and in the schools poor, If. Among 
the business correspondents, form and correctness in 
English were excellent, 5 ; among the general clerks fair, 
3 ; and among the schools good, 4 plus. 

In most subjects, however, high-school graduates are 
generally well up to business employees of experience; 
they are above them in some subjects, but are inferior 
in accuracy. 

Another curious fact was that in general only college 
graduates were able to make a grade on grammar ap- 
proaching 100 per cent (no rules, definitions, or analyses 
were required; only common examples of wrong form 
and right form were given). Ability to punctuate ran dis- 
tinctly below knowledge of grammar, except in one office 
where the stenographers were of especially high grade. 

The standard of accuracy in modern touch typewriting 
was shown to be singularly high. Scores of letters had 
scarcely a mis-touched key. 

BULLETINS NOS. 2, 3, AND 4 

The third edition of the National Business Ability 
Tests was published in January, 1916, as Bulletin No. 2. 

[17] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

The issue is accompanied by a Key and a uniform system 
of grading, suggested by Dr. Strayer. It gives a further 
revised and perfected version of the same tests. On the 
record blank are shown, side by side with individual 
markings, the averages for grammar-school graduates, 
graduates of the commercial departments of high schools, 
and experienced employees, chiefly of the class of stenog- 
raphers and bookkeepers. These may fairly be accepted 
as standard minimums. Also there are recorded the 
averages of the five highest (fairer than the one highest, 
who might be a genius or a special expert). The good 
employee or student ought to have a record somewhere 
between these two, and the business man who looks over 
the individual record will have just what he needs for 
comparison. 

Bulletins No. 3 and No. .4 provide a second and a third 
parallel series of tests. 

Fresh tests, closely parallel though different, are being 
prepared at intervals, so that secret tests of the same 
value as the model tests will always be available for use 
by various institutions. The tests have been shortened, 
although the proportionate ratings have been pretty 
closely preserved, and they can be given in 2 to 18 minutes. 
All the tests for any one applicant, as a stenographer 
tested on 9 points, can be given in about an hour and 
graded in 10 to 15 minutes. Any good clerk can easily 
learn to give the tests, and also to grade them by the Key. 

THE 100 PER CENT STANDARD 

In such work as figuring, spelling, typewriter operation, 
filling out business papers, filing, and copying, the busi- 
ness world demands approximately a 100 per cent stand- 
ard of accuracy, while the schools have a 60 or 70 per 
cent standard, which is appropriate enough to such 

[ 18 1 



THE NATIONAL BUSINESS ABILITY TESTS 

subjects as Latin and Greek, where the 100 per cent 
standard is impossible. The National Business Ability 
Tests, if they can be generally established in offices and 
schools, will undoubtedly stimulate schools to adopt the 
100 per cent standard in certain subjects, as in spelling. 
Leonard Ayres, of the Russell Sage Foundation, listed 
23,000 words taken at random from 2000 business and 
professional letters and found that seven eighths of them 
could be included in a list of 542, less than half of which 
were likely to give trouble in spelling. Obviously schools 
can teach most pupils to spell correctly every one of those 
words. R. C. Eldredge, a factory manager in Niagara 
Falls, New York, classified all the words in 270 news- 
paper articles by 200 different writers and found a total 
of 6002. Some of these words were special and used but 
once, many were common and easy, and about 1200 might 
have required spelling drill. Even the 1200 may be 
mastered practically to the 100 per cent point if pupils 
will concentrate on them. Professor W. Franklin Jones, 
of the University of South Dakota, carried out an even 
larger experiment, listing some 15,000,000 words of 
composition. He found that all the words used more 
than once numbered 4532, of which about 1000 might 
require special concentrated spelling drill. If the words 
that are always being misspelled can be mastered by 
every one, most of our spelling trouble will dis- 
appear. If the National Spelling Tests are taken from 
a known list of 1000, those who wish to pass the tests 
and get employment will master practically all of 
them. 

Whether the common principles of punctuation and 
grammar can be compressed into a few pages of drill 
that can be mastered to the 100 per cent point, remains 
to be shown. But if any expedient will secure this 

[19] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

concentration on just what the business men require, 
it is the establishment of national tests. 

Of course this narrow, specialized proficiency is a good 
thing only within limits. The broad power to think in 
a clear, businesslike way is far more important and is 
more difficult to develop; but schools ought at least to 
abandon teaching merely the external forms of letter 
writing and give some attention to putting accuracy, 
tact, and good feeling into letters. 



[ 20 



Ill 

THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

Psychological Intelligence Tests 

FT1HE Binet-Simon intelligence tests are a series of 
-L questions on common things of universal knowledge 
which tend to show how the mind of the person tested 
functions in following the directions given, or deducing 
one thing from another, or detecting correspondences. 
These have been given to many thousands of persons 
of average ability until it has been determined what 
record would be made on the average by a normal person 
8 years old, 10 years old, 12 years old, 14 years old, etc. 

In the United States this French scale has been used 
in city psychological laboratories for detecting persons 
abnormally deficient in intelligence, or morons. But the 
principle has been widely developed with different types 
of tests, such as writing the opposites of a list of words, 
drawing lines on pictures in accordance with exact and 
peculiar directions, or choosing a fact that corresponds 
to a word, as in : 

A cat is useful because it 

1. catches mice. 

2. is gentle. 

3. has soft fur. 

Of course its usefulness corresponds to the first fact. 

The most far-reaching practical use of psychological 
intelligence tests is that which has been made by the 
personnel department of the United States Army. To 
supply a quick basis for selecting officers, making special 
assignments, etc., etc., more than a million soldiers have 
been tested under the direction of Major Yerkes in the 
Surgeon-General's office, with a series of eight different 

[ 21 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

types of psychological tests printed in a book and ar- 
ranged for checking or marking in a simple way, and 
quickly scored by applying a celluloid stencil on which 
the correct answers are indicated by a dot and can 
be counted up with astonishing rapidity and accuracy. 

The eight tests are of the following types, and this list 
shows the number of questions or points in each type : 

ALPHA SERIES 1 

1. Hard Directions, 12 points. 

(Placing marks in geometrical figures according to direc- 
tions.) 

2. Arithmetic statement problems, 20 points. 
(Beginning with easy ones and becoming progressively 

more difficult.) 

3. Reasoning Test, 16 points. 

(Choosing the true statement out of three given.) 

4 . Like — opposite, 40 points. 

(Underscore the word like or opposite according to which 
is true.) 

5. True — false, 24 points. 

(Words of sentence are jumbled and must first be re- 
arranged mentally, and then word true or false is under- 
scored according to which is correct.) 

6. Continuing series of numbers (two additions to each 
series), 20 points. 

7. Mixed Relations Test, 40 points. 

(In the form of an arithmetical proportion, to supply 
the fourth term from several words given.) 

8. Completion and Information Test, 40 points. 
(Choosing a word from several given that will complete the 

sentence properly, and also indicate general information.) 

Total, 212 points. 

1 Similar to Otis Group Intelligence Scale, published by World Book Co. 

[ 22 ] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

The following account of these tests is from the official 
"Personnel Manual," Chapter X, edition of October, 1918. 

THE UNITED STATES ARMY INTELLIGENCE TESTS 

The tests were prepared by a special committee of 
the American Psychological Association. Before being 
ordered into general use they were thoroughly tried out 
in four National Army cantonments, and from time to 
time have undergone revision to increase their practical 
usefulness. Between May 1st and October 1st, 1918, 
approximately one million three hundred thousand men 
were tested. 

Three systems of test are now in use : 

(1) Alpha. This is a group test for men who read and 
write English. It requires only fifty minutes, and can 
be given to groups as large as 500. The test material 
is so arranged that each of its 212 questions may be 
answered without writing, merely by underlining, cross- 
ing out, or checking. The papers are later scored by 
means of stencils, so that nothing is left to the personal 
judgment of those who do the scoring. The mental 
rating which results is therefore wholly objective. 

(2) Beta. This is a group test for foreigners and illit- 
erates. It may be given to groups of from 75 to 300 and 
requires approximately fifty minutes. Success in Beta 
does not depend upon knowledge of English, as the in- 
structions are given entirely by pantomime and demon- 
stration. Like Alpha, it measures general intelligence, 
but does so through the use of concrete or picture 
material instead of by the use of printed language. 
It is also scored by stencils and yields an objective 
rating. 

(3) Individual Tests. Three forms of individual tests 
are used : The Yerkes-Bridges Point Scale, the Stanford- 

[23] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Binet Scale, and the Performance Scale. An individual 
test requires from fifteen to thirty minutes. The in- 
structions for the Performance Scale are given by means 
of gestures and demonstration, and a high score may be 
earned in it by an intelligent recruit who does not know 
a word of English. 

All enlisted men are given either Alpha or Beta accord- 
ing to their degree of literacy. Those who fail in Alpha 
are given Beta, and those who fail to pass Test Beta are 
given an individual test. 

As a result of the tests, each man is rated as A, B, C+> 
C, C-,D, D-,orE. 

The psychological staff in a camp is ordinarily able to 
test 2000 men per day and to report the ratings to the 
Personnel Office within 24 hours. 

Explanation of Letter Ratings. The rating a man 
earns furnishes a fairly reliable index of his ability to 
learn, to think quickly and accurately, to analyze a situation^ 
to maintain a state of mental alertness, and to comprehend 
and follow instructions. The score is little influenced by 
schooling. Some of the highest records have been made 
by men who had never completed the eighth grade. The 
meaning of the letter ratings is as follows : 

A. Very Superior Intelligence. This grade is earned 
by only four or five soldiers out of a hundred. The A 
group is composed of men of marked intellectuality. 
"A" men are of high officer type when they are also 
endowed with leadership and other necessary qualities. 

B. Superior Intelligence. "B" intelligence is superior, 
but less exceptional than that represented by "A." The 
rating "B" is obtained by eight to ten soldiers out of a 
hundred. The group contains a good many men of the 
commissioned officer type and a large amount of non- 
commissioned officer material. 

[24 ] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

C+. High Average Intelligence. This group includes 
about 15 to 18 per cent of all soldiers and contains a large 
amount of non-commissioned-officer material, with oc- 
casionally a man whose leadership and power to command 
fit him for commissioned rank. 

C. Average Intelligence. Includes about 25 per cent 
of soldiers. Excellent private type, with a certain amount 
of fair non-commissioned-officer material. 

C — . Low Average Intelligence. Includes about 20 per 
cent. While below average in intelligence, "C— " men 
are usually good privates and satisfactory in work of rou- 
tine nature. 

D. Inferior Intelligence. Includes about 15 per cent 
of soldiers. "D" men are likely to be fair soldiers, but 
are usually slow in learning and rarely go above the rank 
of private. They are short on initiative and so require 
more than the usual amount of supervision. Many of 
them are illiterate or foreign. 

D — and E. Very Inferior Intelligence. This group is 
divided into two classes : (1) "D — " men, who are very 
inferior in intelligence but are considered fit for regular 
service ; and (2) "E" men, those whose mental inferiority 
justifies their recommendation for Development Bat- 
talion, special service organization, rejection, or discharge. 
The majority of "D— " and "E" men are below ten years 
in "mental age." 

The immense contrast between A and D — intelligence 
is shown by the fact that men of A intelligence have the 
ability to make a superior record in college or university, 
while D — men are of such inferior mentality that they 
are rarely able to go beyond the third or fourth grade of 
the elementary school, however long they attend. In 
fact, most D— and E men are below the "mental age" 
of 10 years and at best are on the border-line of mental 

[25] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

deficiency. Most of them are of the "moron" grade of 
feeble-mindedness. B intelligence is capable of making 
an average record in college, C+ intelligence cannot 
do so well, while mentality of the C grade is rarely equal 
to high-school graduation. 

Evidence that the Tests Measure Military Value. It has 
been thoroughly demonstrated that the intelligence rat- 
ings are very useful in indicating practical military value. 
The following investigations are typical : 

1. Commanding officers of ten different organizations 
representing various arms in a camp were asked to desig- 
nate : 

(a) The most efficient men in the organization ; 

(6) Men of average value ; 

(c) Men so inferior that they were "barely able" to 
perform their duties. 

The officers of these organizations had been with their 
men from six to twelve months and knew them excep- 
tionally well. The total number of men rated was 965, 
about equally divided among "best," "average," and 
"poorest." After the officers' ratings had been made, 
the men were given the usual psychological test. Com- 
parison of test results with officers' ratings showed : 

(a) That the average score of the "best" group was 
approximately twice as high as the average score 
of the "poorest" group. 

(6) That of men testing below C — , 70 per cent were 
classed as "poorest" and only 4.4 per cent as 
"best." 

(c) That of men testing above C+, 15 per cent were 

classed as "poorest" and 55.5 per cent as "best." 

(d) That the man who tests above C+ is about fourteen 

times as likely to be classed "best" as the man 
who tests below C — . 
[26] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

(e) That the per cent classed as "best" in the various 
letter groups increased steadily from per cent 
in D— to 57.7 per cent in A, while the per cent 
classed as "poorest" decreased steadily from 
80 per cent in D— to 11.5 per cent in A. The 
following table shows the per cents for each 
letter group : 





D- 


D 


C- 


C 


c+ 


B 


A 


Total number 


29 


60 


121 


231 


229 


191 


104 


Classed with 
















"best" . . 


0.0% 


6.7% 


19.0% 


26.0% 


39.3% 


53.4% 


57.7% 


Classed with 
















"poorest" . 


79.3% 


65.0% 


57.9% 


31.2% 


24.9% 


16.7% 


11.5% 



Considering that low military value may be caused by 
many things besides inferior intelligence, the above find- 
ings are very significant. 

2. In an infantry regiment of another camp were 765 
men (Regulars) who had been with their officers for 
several months. The company commanders were asked 
to rate these men as 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 according to "practical 
soldier value," "1" being highest, and "5" lowest. The 
men were then tested, with the following results : 

(a) Of 76 men who earned the grade A or B, none was 

rated "5" and only 9 were rated "3" or "4." 
(6) Of 238 "D" and "D- " men, only one received the 
rating "1" and only 7 received a rating of "2." 
(c) Psychological ratings and ratings by company 
commanders were identical in 49.5 per cent of 
all cases. There was agreement within one step 
in 88.4 per cent of cases, and disagreement of 
more than two steps in only ^ of 1 per cent of 
cases. 

[27] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

3. In another camp the company officers of a regiment 
were asked to designate the ten "best" and ten "poorest" 
privates in each company. The officers had been with 
their men long enough to know them thoroughly. Com- 
parison of the officers' estimates with the results of in- 
telligence tests brought out the following facts : 

(a) Of 156 men classed with the ten "best" in their 
respective companies, only 9 tested below C — . 

(6) Of 133 men classed with the "poorest" ten in their 
respective companies, only 4 tested above C + . 

(c) Men above C+ are 7.3 times as likely as men below 

C— to be -classed with the ten "best." 

(d) Men below C — are 10.8 times as likely as men 

above C+ to be classed with the ten "poorest." 

(e) An "A" man is 11.7 times as likely as a man below 

C— to be rated "best"; but a man below C — 
is 13.5 times as likely as an "A" to be rated 
"poorest." 

4. The same experiment was made in still another 
camp. Officers of 36 different companies picked the ten 
"best" and the ten "poorest" men in each company. Of 
the "poorest," 62.22 per cent tested below C— and only 
3.06 per cent above C + . Of the "best," 38 per cent 
tested above C+ and only 9.72 per cent below C— ■. Ac- 
cording to this investigation, a man below C— is 6.4 
times as likely to be "poorest" as to be "best." A man 
above C+ is 12.5 times as likely to be "best" as to be 
"poorest." A man rating A' is 62 times as likely to be 
"best" as to be "poorest." A man rating D — is 29.3 
times as likely to be "poorest" as to be "best." 

5. Where commissioned officers are selected on the 
basis of trying out and "survival of the fittest" it is 
ordinarily found that about 80 per cent are of the A or 
B grade, and only about 5 per cent below the C+ grade. 

[28] 



T THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

Of non-commissioned officers chosen by this method, 
about 75 per cent are found to grade A, B, or C+, and 
only 5 per cent below C. Moreover, there is a gradual 
rise in average score as we go from privates up through 
the ranks of privates first class, corporals, sergeants, ser- 
geants first class, Officers' Training School candidates, and 
commissioned officers. This is seen in the following table : 



Per cent earning each letter rating 



Various Groups 
(Whites) .... 

8,819 Commissioned 
Officers .... 

9,240 O. T. S. Candi- 
dates 

3,393 Sergeants . . 

4,023 Corporals . . 

81,114 Literate Pri- 
vates 

10,803 Illiterate Pri- 
vates 



D-orE 
0.0 



0.0 
0.0 
0.0 



0.22 

7.8 



D 

0.01 

0.14 
1.05 
1.33 

10.24 

41.16 



.25 

.98 
4.05 
7.33 

21.48 

29.11 



C 

2.92 

6.16 
14.2 
20.33 

28.79 

14.67 



C+ 

13.8 

19.5 
27.3 
31.3 

20.48 

4.43 



B 

34.6 

.4 
32.5 
26 

12.38 

1.95 



A 

48.4 

36.8 
20.9 
13.7 

6.37 

.52 



A&B 

83. 

73.2 
53.4 
39.7 

18.75 

2.47 



6. Experience shows that "D" candidates admitted 
to Officers' Training Schools almost never make good, 
and that the per cent of elimination among the "C — " 
and "C" students is several times as high as among 
" A " students. For example, in one of the Fourth Officers' 
Training Schools 100 per cent of the "D" men were 
eliminated as unsatisfactory, 55 per cent of the "C— " 
men, 14.8 per cent of the "B" men, but only 2.7 per cent 
of the "A" men. In another Fourth Officers' Training 
School 76.2 per cent of the men rating below C were 
eliminated in the first six weeks, 51.5 per cent of the 
"C" men, and none at all of the "A" or "B" men. 
These findings are typical. 

[29] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

The psychological ratings are valuable not so much 
because they make a better classification than would 
come about in the course of time through natural selec- 
tion, but chiefly because they greatly abbreviate this 
process by indicating immediately the groups in which 
suitable officer material will be found, and at the same 
time those men whose mental inferiority warrants their 
elimination from regular units in order to prevent the 
retardation of training. Speed counts in a war that 
costs fifty million dollars per day and requires the mini- 
mum period of training. 

The mental tests are not intended to replace other 
methods of judging a man's value to the service. It 
would be a mistake to assume that they tell us infallibly 
what kind of soldier a man will make. They merely 
help to do this by measuring one important element in 
a soldier's equipment, namely, intelligence. They do 
not measure loyalty, bravery, power to command, or 
the emotional traits that make a man "carry on." How- 
ever, in the long run these qualities are far more likely 
to be found in men of superior intelligence than in men 
who are intellectually inferior. Intelligence is perhaps 
the most important single factor in soldier efficiency, 
apart from physical fitness. 

UNITED STATES ARMY TRADE TESTS 

In addition to the intelligence tests, the army personnel 
department found it necessary to select individual soldiers 
for more than one hundred different trades required for 
military purposes. The quick way to select experts, 
journeymen, apprentices, and novices was to give stand- 
ardized trade tests to the individuals selected from the 
personnel card index. These tests were of three kinds : 
1. Oral, consisting of questions on typical technical 

[30] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

points ; 2. Picture, in which the parts of a machine, 
for example, might be pointed out and named; and 
3. Performance, in which objects were actually made in 
a machine shop, or an automobile was maneuvered be- 
tween stakes. 

Standardized Educational Tests in Business 
the measure of intelligence under the influence 

OF HABIT 

It is of undoubted value to business to select employees 
of good natural intelligence, but business uses intelligence 
under the domination of habit. It is important for the 
employer to know a given person's existing habits, and 
also his power to acquire new habits, especially if that 
person is to be employed in the more mechanical orders of 
activity. In the higher orders of activity the native powers 
of intelligence are the more important. In the case of those 
who go through the usual years of promotion, the em- 
ployer is given an opportunity to determine native ability 
by direct observation. The object of tests is to arrive in 
a few minutes at results which it would otherwise take 
years to work out satisfactorily. 

In the hiring of office help, particularly, it is most de- 
sirable that the employer should be able to judge the 
applicant's power to develop habitual accuracy. To 
measure such accuracy, Marshall Field & Co. give to all 
prospective sales people a day's instruction and prac- 
tice in the filling out of sales checks. Usually appli- 
cants learn to do the work in three to six hours during 
one day. Those who fail to learn in one day are given 
a second day, but very few who are incapable of learning 
the first day are able to learn the second day ; and those 
who do not learn the second day never learn at all, — 

[31] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

are mentally incapable of learning. A standardized test 
would within half an hour eliminate those incapable of 
learning and so save their time and the time of instructors. 

\ SIGNIFICANCE OF ACCURACY AND SPEED 

The attainment of a high degree of accuracy in figures 
(for example) is at once an evidence of mental capacity 
and a proof of mental training. The habit of 99 per 
cent accuracy is required in business regardless of speed, 
and it should be required in the classroom. Extreme 
accuracy in handling figures shows a certain mental 
capacity, and also a discipline in mental control which 
inevitably must carry over into all the activities of life. 
It is conveniently measured with figures, but it is sig- 
nificant of far more than the mere mechanical ability 
to use figures. I speak of extreme accuracy or approach 
to the 99 per cent standard of business. 

After accuracy, the speed with which common opera- 
tions are performed is important by way of showing how 
much each person is likely to be worth on the basis of 
accomplishment. But unless it is known how much 
practice there has been, a test of speed has little value, 
and so it is of minor importance in choosing beginners. 

LIMITATIONS AND ADVANTAGES OF STANDARD 
EDUCATIONAL TESTS 

A test on figures is an extremely narrow one, and it 
has great significance only when a very high degree of 
accuracy is attained. A test on figures is theoretically 
as nearly pure as any test can be. Absolutely parallel 
tests may be arranged, and an exact parallel is probably 
possible with no other kind of test. Other subjects have 
their similar advantages and disadvantages, 

[ 32 J 






THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

The National Tests: Subjects and Methods 

reproducing instructions 

The employer wants to know the young applicant's 
ability to carry an oral message and to write a message 
or business letter. It is difficult to test ability to carry 
an oral message, but it is quite possible to test ability 
to write a message. 

Writing a message involves several elements. To 
measure ability in this direction, it is necessary to divide 
the message into its component parts or elements and 
measure each by itself. These elements are : the power 
to reproduce instructions or to follow directions ; spelling ; 
grammatical correctness ; punctuation ; and command of 
vocabulary. 

In the National Ability Tests two methods of measur- 
ing power to follow instructions are indicated. One is 
to require the memorizing, during five minutes, of instruc- 
tions containing a certain number of facts, and then to 
allow ten minutes for reproducing those instructions in 
writing. Each significant fact being identified, the 
number of facts reproduced is the measure of efficiency. 
In the other method eight points are mentioned in an 
advertisement for a position. A letter of application in 
response to the advertisement is checked for the number 
of points on which some comment is made. The points 
overlooked are recorded as so many omissions. This 
latter method is the less satisfactory, but as it is com- 
bined with a general composition test, it requires little 
time to apply. 

SPELLING 

The spelling tests are based on a selection of words 
frequently used in business and likely to be misspelled. 

[33] 



iMtfi - 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

The elementary test is keyed to the 50 hardest 'words in 
Ayres' list of 542. An advanced test is made up from about 
1000 words selected from the Jones, Eldredge, and other 
lists. 1 

The first result of these tests would be concentration 
on the list of words most commonly used and most likely 
to be misspelled. The second result would be a serious 
effort to break up habits of inaccuracy in spelling. The 
third result would be the elimination of those mentally 
incapable of learning to spell. 

PUNCTUATION 

Tests in punctuation and grammar go a step farther 
than those in spelling, in requiring the application of 
intelligence of a higher order. For punctuation tests, 
the first essential is to find out the frequency with which 
different principles of punctuation are applied in actual 
practice. Unfortunately no wide investigation of this 
matter has ever been made, and there are very grave 
difficulties in the way of making such an investigation. 
The author in his Minimum Essentials of Punctuation 
has gathered in order of frequency of use the elements 
he has found employed in business letter writing. These 
are : first, the grouping of words into sentences by means 
of capital letters and periods; second, the grouping of 
clauses within sentences by commas; and third, the 
grouping of phrases within clauses by commas. A very 
few uses of semicolons and colons, dashes, parentheses, 
and quotation marks are of importance. The use of 
capital letters to distinguish individual from class words, 
and the use of hyphens to indicate divisions of compound 
words and of words at ends of lines, are also important. 

Each of the principles involved can be covered several 
1 The author has used this selection in his 100% Speller. 

[34 ] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

times in every test. A paragraph is given to sentences 
in the elementary grammar test ; and in the punctuation 
test a paragraph to capital letters; a paragraph to the 
comma; and in an " advanced test" a paragraph is given 
to use of the other marks in combination with the 
comma. In each parallel test the same number of 
points of each sort should be allotted to word groups 
of equal difficulty. Where usage differs, correctness ac- 
cording to any acceptable authority should be recognized. 
Very close expert judgment is required in the preparation 
of a parallel test if equal difficulty is to be secured and if a 
subtle easing or strengthening of the test is to be avoided. 
In this test we measure intelligence in bringing mean- 
ing out of unpunctuated words by means of punctuation 
marks. Though no rules are asked for, only persons who 
have the habit of applying the right principles correctly 
will be able to make high records. The test gives a 
measure of practical knowledge of punctuation modified 
by intelligence in applying that knowledge in just the 
way that business requires. .. 

GRAMMAR 

The test in grammar requires much the same choice 
between right and wrong forms that business conversa- 
tion or writing requires. Again, in the preparation of 
this test, a compilation must be made of all common 
points of correctness that are likely to be violated. Care- 
ful investigation shows that there are fewer than fifty of 
these points; and every test can epitomize the more 
important of them. In his Minimum Essentials of 
Correct Grammatical Usage, the author has arranged 
possible points in order of frequency of use. The ele- 
mentary test in grammar differs from the advanced test 
only in this respect — that the points involved are the 

[35] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

more frequently violated and should be the first attacked 
by a teacher. Each numbered paragraph gives several 
applications of the same principle. If some of these 
applications are incorrectly marked, it shows more surely 
that the principle is not understood than if an explanation 
of the principle had been called for. 

This, then, is a test of knowledge of grammatical usage 
combined with a test of mental ability to apply a simple 
principle in practice. Such simple tests would first 
develop the habit of maximum attention to the facts 
and principles most commonly required in practical 
life ; and, secondarily, they would come to be a measure 
of intelligence under the fully developed habit. 

Business Practice Tests 
writing addresses 

A ten-minute test on envelope-addressing with a pen 
is useful in many ways : (1) It gives material for grading 
penmanship by such a scale as Ayres' (his Gettysburg 
scale is recommended) ; (2) it is probably the best indi- 
cation of natural speed, since all school work nowadays 
demands more or less writing and all persons in school 
may be supposed to have developed their maximum 
natural speed in writing ; (3) it gives a fair indication of 
natural accuracy. 

FILING OR ALPHABETIZING 

When the envelope-addressing is completed, the same 
20 slips of paper may in 2 minutes be arranged in alpha- 
betical order according to state, town, and individual, 
and the numbers of the successive slips written down 
for easy checking. Here is a quick and convenient test 
on filing. 

[36] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

TABULATION (MENTAL ALERTNESS) 

This test consists of picking out of a list of 15 a certain 
number of individuals who conform to set requirements 
under four different heads. It requires but 2 minutes, 
but needs a nimble and accurate mind. As a very brief 
test of intelligence in office work it is exceedingly valuable. 
It was adapted from a much longer test used by the 
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and is said to 
have been originated by Professor E. L. Thorndike. 

TYPEWRITING 

Till now there seems to have been but one recognized 
and standardized business practice test of any kind, and 
that has been the International Typewriting Contest, 
originated and prepared by J. N. Kimball, 1358 Broad- 
way, New York, who is the veteran contest manager 
for the entire United States. Mr. Kimball has developed 
typewriting speed with accuracy to a point that once 
would have seemed impossible. In 1907, when Miss 
Rose Fritz wrote 87 words a minute, the achievement 
was considered marvelous; but now Miss Owen writes 
143 words net a minute, that being the average for an 
hour. 

The basis of the contests has been standardized matter 
prepared by Mr. Kimball. Penalizing for every error 
by the deduction of five points from the speed record 
has operated to give practically every contest to the y 
accurate rather than to the merely speedy competitor. 
This tendency has been still further emphasized by in- 
creasing the penalty to 10 words for each error, yet the 
net speed has increased. 

For these contests it has been necessary to provide 
uniform material, which should average a certain number 

[37] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

of strokes to each word. The need for uniformity of 
matter in tests for school and commercial purposes has 
not been generally recognized. While the test material 
sent out by the typewriter companies for their monthly 
awards has been extensively used by schools, employers 
have taken any convenient material, not fully realizing 
that a comparison of words per minute was not fair 
unless the character of the material was indicated. 

For commercial purposes, actual letter matter should 
be used; and the artificial use of short words easily re- 
produced on the typewriter should give way to random 
average business practice. While covering a considerable 
range of subjects, the matter ought to be uniform in 
general difficulty. A word basis should give way to a 
stroke basis; or results might be expressed on an arbi- 
trary word basis by dividing the total number of strokes 
by five or six. A distinction should be made between 
errors that a business man might pass in a letter and 
those that would make a letter useless; and the two 
classes of errors ought to be recorded separately. 

In international contests it has been found necessary 
to use hour tests to decide the merits of close competitors. 
The business man, however, gains no additional advantage 
from tests that include more than a single letter of 300 
words. Such a letter will go on one sheet (single-spaced), 
and few operators in business offices will finish such a 
letter in less than five minutes. To get it out in five 
minutes would require the writing of 60 words a minute, 
and that is about the maximum speed in offices. If 
there is greater speed, the same letter can in part be 
reproduced again. In any case, the body of the letter 
must be completed in five minutes. 

This test may also be used for a straight typewriter 
copying test. 

[38] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

In addition to this a blank form is provided to be 
copied line for line, space for space, to test the power of 
absolute reproduction as required for mimeograph work. 
It is extremely important for a business man to know 
with what degree of exactness a page blank can be re- 
produced, and it is very useful for the teacher to know 
just how highly he values exactness in this kind of work. 

BOOKKEEPING 

The requirements of bookkeeping are divided into three 
elements. The first of these is accuracy and speed in 
handling figures. The most important operations with 
figures are adding, subtracting, multiplying, and divid- 
ing whole numbers; multiplying certain common frac- 
tions by short-cut methods and otherwise; and using 
decimals in percentage. 

The second element required in the practice of book- 
keeping is ability to make records on business blanks, 
such as invoice forms of some complication. 

The third element required is the analysis and classi- 
fication of accounts, as in journalizing or ledger-posting. 

S. A. Courtis of Detroit has shown how tests on arith- 
metical operations may be prepared and conducted. 
His tests in adding, subtracting, and multiplying have 
been taken as a basis for the National Tests, but they 
have been shortened. As all figures have to be copied 
before they are added in actual business practice, it has 
seemed best to extend the test on adding by requiring 
the copying of each column before it is added. The 
copying requires a trifle less time than the adding, and 
the time for the combined test in copying and adding 
has been fixed at four minutes. Courtis's tests on sub- 
traction and multiplication have simply been cut in 
half. But to make a closer comparison possible, all 

[39] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

figures in the answers are to be counted, and figures 
wrong are to be considered instead of problems wrong. 
The same principles have been carried into the national 
tests on fractions and on percentage. 

For a test on accuracy in filling out business blanks, 
the ordinary invoice form gives a very convenient basis. 
The advantages its use affords are as follows : (1) The 
invoice is universally understood. (2) In three sales 
transactions fifty blank spaces may be correctly filled 
or left blank, and the test can be readily graded in a 
purely mechanical manner by counting the errors in 
these spaces. (3) Instructions for filling the spaces can 
be used as a reproduction test which may precede the 
Invoicing test, and so time and space may be economized. 

A higher test on judgment in classification of items in 
journalizing or posting is certainly needed, but has not 
yet been worked out. 

OBJECTIONS TO SCHOOL PROBLEMS IN ARITHMETIC 

School examinations in arithmetic often consist largely 
of problems, such as those asking how many rolls of paper 
are required for a room of given size. These problems 
require reasoning, and so are regarded by educators as of a 
higher character than those involving merely the mechani- 
cal handling of figures. Why have not problems of this sort 
been introduced into generally used, standardized tests ? 

The first reason is that no single class of problem is 
universal in business. The second reason is that satis- 
factory standard tests on higher mental activity are 
very difficult to construct, and are uncertain in results. 
Most higher mental operations unite several mental 
processes which interfere with each other, and cannot 
readily be separated in grading. It is therefore safer to 
stick to the simpler elements. 

[40] 



THE PRINCIPLES OF SCIENTIFIC TESTS 

ANSWERING LETTERS 

The best simple test on composition is the answer to 
an advertisement offering a position, since every one 
knows what applying for a position means. This is the 
National Elementary Test. All kinds of errors are 
counted up, with a list of about 50 questions as a guide 
for checking. Only with such a list of questions to check 
by is it at all possible to have a scientific or uniform 
checking of any form of composition by different teachers 
or pupils (or even by the same teachers at different times). 
Tests have shown the same composition to be marked 
40 per cent by one teacher and 90 per cent by another. 
What possible real value can such marking have ? 

Of tests on higher mental activity, that on answering 
letters has proved markedly successful. 

Three letters involving nine points are given to be 
answered, and the facts required to answer them are to 
be found in catalogue pages supplied a day in advance 
so that the person tested may become familiar with 
their contents. Or some of the facts may be answered 
by the exercise of common sense. 

In grading, such a test as this must be divided into its 
elements, — how many of the nine facts have been prop- 
erly covered ? have the explanations been made in clear 
and sympathetic language ? is the conventional form of 
the letter correct ? how many errors of all kinds are to 
be found, checked up on the principles used in grading 
the letter applying for a position ? 

Trained correspondents of the National Cash Register 
Company and the Burroughs Adding Machine Company 
handled the National Test in letter-writing with ease, 
though few were able to make perfect records on it. 
Order clerks of the National Cloak & Suit Company 

[41] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

who had no familiarity with the forms of letter writing 
were able to find the facts and state them because of 
their general business training. They made a record 
of 3^ (fair) on facts and statement, as compared to 4^. 
(good) on a scale of 5 made by the trained correspondents. 
High-school graduates untrained in business could not 
handle the test. Yet an eighth-grade class in Gary and 
another in Racine, after five weeks of training in such 
work, were able to make passable records on this test. 



42 ] 



IV 
THE NATIONAL TESTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

Practical Advantages of Standard Tests 

fairness of the national tests 

STANDARD tests have hitherto been used largely by 
superintendents to determine the shortcomings of 
pupils and teachers. 

Pupils and teachers are far more likely to overcome their 
difficulties if they first find out their own errors by testing 
themselves. They fear the unreasonable character of an 
unfamiliar examination. They dread the unfairness of 
the element of personal judgment that runs like a rusty 
thread through the fabric of nearly all ordinary examina- 
tions. If it is good for teachers to discover their errors 
so that they can correct them voluntarily, it is still better 
to let pupils discover their own errors. It is far more 
likely to put them in a mood to do the hard work necessary 
to overcome their difficulties. 

The National Tests have been worked over by so many 
persons that all suspicion of unfairness has been rubbed 
out of them. Every pupil and every teacher will admit 
that they are fair. This can never be said of a test devised 
by one person alone, however fair-minded he may think 
he is. 

FEASIBILITY OF GRADING BY PUPILS 

Many will admit the desirability of having pupils correct 
and grade test papers, but will doubt that it can be done. 
The author did it successfully on the second attempt at 
Gary, with 750 pupils in the seventh, eighth, and ninth 
grades. The first attempt was a failure because pupils 
overlooked 2 per cent or more of errors on a single check- 
ing. It was found that a second checking was necessary. 

[43] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

In reality a third review, made by the owner of the paper, 
is desirable. He should be allowed merely to call attention 
to possible discrepancies. 

In Racine the system was carried through with 1500 
pupils, handled by 40 teachers who were called together 
and given special training in the conduct of the tests. 
A series of ten different tests was carried through and the 
entire work was completed between Monday morning 
and Friday night, two of the days having been required 
by the author to inspect the tests, figure medians, and 
make out the report to the superintendent. This report 
is shown in the Appendix. 

In New York, at the end of 1917, the tests were given 
to 6000^ eighth-grade pupils, three tests to each, with 
nothing more than general directions to those who super- 
vised the tests. Results depended on reading the instruc- 
tions step by step as they are given in this book. The 
margin of points overlooked or wrongly marked was not 
sufficient to change the median for any class as much as 
1 per cent. 

REQUISITES TO SUCCESS IN GRADING BY PUPILS 

Successful grading by pupils depends on : 
1. Asking pupils to do only one thing at a time. When 
they are asked to do two things at a time, errors result 
from confusion. For example, pupils were asked to count 
up the errors, and then to deduct 2 from 100 per cent for 
each error. Here were three steps to be taken at the 
same time, — counting up, multiplying, and subtracting, 
not to mention writing down. Many errors were made, 
and so the pupils were asked only to count up the errors 
and write down the number. It was easier to deal with 
these small counts, and the percentage was readily figured 
by the inspector. 
[ 44 ] 



THE NATIONAL TESTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

2. Arranging the paper so that everything is perfectly 
clear. Poorly printed mimeograph sheets will not work 
well. Spaces should be assigned for each entry to be 
written on the paper. The check marks should be kept 
within a blank space at the right side so that they can easily 
be counted up. 

3. Having every paper checked twice, and taking pains 
to see that poor papers are marked by bright pupils, and 
that if a paper is marked once by an especially dull pupil, 
it is marked the second time by an especially bright pupil. 
A little attention to this matter of exchanging papers will 
go a long way toward eliminating defects due to the work 
of the 2 per cent of subnormal pupils. When a class is 
divided into two groups, the upper consisting of those 
who have been promoted and the lower of those who have 
lagged behind, test papers from the upper group will be 
likely to come through clean, while test papers from the 
lower group will probably be in poor condition in spite 
of every precaution. In such cases, the brighter division 
should be asked to make the second checking for the 
poorer division. The first checking is best made by the 
original class, since this is part of the educational work; 
but the second checking may be passed on to some other 
class. 

4. Giving pupils plenty of time for the checking of 
papers. Opportunity should always be given for the 
asking of questions, and directions or answers should be 
repeated as many times as necessary. Indeed, the teacher 
should pause to invite questions, but without allowing 
waste of time. 

5. Making the class feel that it is doing a very important 
piece of work for the superintendent or principal, and that 
for this hour every pupil is in duty bound to use his wits 
and concentrate his attention. Here is a real scientific 

[ 45 J ■ j 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

job that young children can perform as well as experts, if 
they will only give their minds to it. This atmosphere of 
importance must be encouraged by the teacher and 
maintained throughout the work. 

TIME REQUIRED 

The time for handling tests is in part adapted to the 
usual class period of forty minutes. A test given in 
fifteen minutes can usually be checked twice in the re- 
mainder of the period ; the results could be tabulated in 
twenty minutes additional. Or a grammar and punc- 
tuation test, elementary and advanced, could be taken 
in one forty-minute period, checked twice in another such 
period, and then tabulated and discussed with the class 
during a third period. 

TESTS AS A MEASUREMENT OF PROGRESS 

Teachers are accustomed to cover a number of pages in 
a textbook, and then give an examination on those pages. 
They do not quite understand the philosophy of beginning 
a term or a month's work with a test. 

Of course, when a subject is taken up for the first time, 
no test can be given. A test on typewriting before the 
pupil mastered the typewriter would be folly. A test 
before instruction on letter-writing would also be useless. 
But at the end of the sixth grade the fundamentals of 
English and arithmetic have been taught, and it is well 
enough to end the work of the sixth grade or to begin the 
work of the seventh grade with the same test. In type- 
writing, the first test should be given as soon as the key- 
board exercises have been completed and the whole 
machine has been covered so that a business letter may 
be copied. The test may show a net speed of only seven 

[46 ] 



THE NATIONAL TESTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

or eight words a minute, but it offers a point from which 
to measure progress. 

As soon as the operations of typewriting or arithmetic 
are understood, and the development of speed and accu- 
racy must begin, a test is given. At the end of a period 
of weeks another parallel test is given and a comparison 
of results furnishes a measure of progress in habits of 
speed and accuracy. The development of habit can be 
measured only by standard tests. Ordinary examinations 
furnish but rough aids to the judgment of the teacher, 
and the result is usually very imperfect. 

A test starts the work of a class smoothly. At once and 
in concrete form it gives pupils an idea of the ground they 
have to cover. 

Some pupils will be found already to have acquired the 
habits of accuracy and speed which the teacher expects 
the class to attain. Such pupils should be given supple- 
mentary work from the very beginning of the term. No 
teacher can intelligently assign supplementary work to 
very bright or very poor pupils without a test to base the 
assignment upon. Bright pupils and poor pupils are 
ordinarily sacrificed to the middle portion of the class, the 
average. The tests give a scientific individual basis for 
work. 

Pupils who are below the average need special help. 
Usually no such help is given them and they are retarded. 
When the work starts with a test, teachers can at once 
find out who are the more backward pupils and provide 
help for them from the first. This can be done in any 
one of several ways. Parents can be informed and asked 
to give an hour each evening to work with their children. 
Or an extra hour each day under a study-help teacher can 
be provided in the school, the time being taken from a 
period assigned to music or some extra subject which may 

[47] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

not be so necessary to the particular pupil. This extra 
help from the very beginning of the term is almost certain 
to bring the pupil through the work with his class. 

Since a test must be carried out as nearly as possible on a 
100 per cent basis, pupils have at the outset a very good 
illustration of what the 100 per cent standard in business 
really means. You can talk to them about it and they 
will not understand. Give a test that must be handled 
at the 100 per cent point, and they understand very well. 

SECOND' TEST AT END OF SIX WEEKS 

In our school system, monthly examinations are 
gradually giving way to six-weeks examinations and 
reports. It requires about one week to give opening tests 
and final tests, and to make up reports. This leaves five 
clear weeks for straight class effort. In practice that has 
proved to be an excellent interval. Six weeks might be 
called the term unit, the nine months of the school year 
being made up of two semesters, each consisting of three 
six- weeks periods. 

It is widely admitted that concentration on one subject 
at a time, in English especially, produces as high as 25 
per cent better results than does the method of mixing 
different subjects together. Six weeks is a good period for 
concentration on one subject, such as punctuation or 
grammar. After that the pupils want a change. The 
standard test record shows them just where they start, 
and just where they end ; and after a time, when another 
period on the same subject is about to begin, a new test 
shows just how much has been forgotten during the 
interval. 

English is a subject of many phases. Spelling, gram- 
mar, punctuation, and composition are all different sub- 
jects of study, and a right balance in the course is impos- 

[48] 



THE NATIONAL TESTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

sible unless each of these is measured by itself. One 
teacher likes composition, one likes spelling ; one is good 
on grammar, another prefers reading and literature ; but 
nearly every teacher slights one or another of these sub- 
jects. In one school it is punctuation that is below 
standard, in another it is grammar, and in another it is 
spelling. Such weaknesses would be instantly detected 
if the superintendent had these standard test records 
before him. 

ABUSE OF STANDARD TESTS 

Teachers will always try to make good records on public 
tests, and there is a natural tendency to neglect subjects 
that are not tested. High records are made by an exces- 
sive sacrifice of time. 

For example, when high schools compete with each other 
on typewriting, each school selects its competition squad 
of 10 or 15 and makes that squad work out of hours for 
w r eeks. The trophies go to the school whose students 
have put in the most hours of practice, and the extra 
hours are usually taken from some other subject. This 
is a vicious condition. 

AVOIDING ABUSE OF TESTS 

There is, however, an easy way to avoid such a difficulty. 
If at the end of the year there is a public test on grammar 
and punctuation and none on reading, teachers are pretty 
sure to put in most of their time on grammar and punc- 
tuation. But if one six-weeks period is given to punctua- 
tion alone, another to reading, another to grammar and 
nothing else, and still another to letter-writing, the teacher 
and the pupils are judged by what they accomplish in a 
given length of time, not on how much they sacrifice 
everything else in order to make a special showing in one 

[49] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

subject. The neglect of the time element is the whole 
cause of the vicious character in former tests. 



CERTIFICATES TO SHOW TIME SPENT IN PRACTICE 

Teachers should be given certificates which would show 
a record of work in this form : 



Subject 


Opening test 
00 


Final test 
00 


Impeovement 
00 


Time 

IN CLASS 

— hrs 


Time in 
home study 

— hrs 



Under this system teachers with poor classes can make 
better records than teachers with good classes, since the 
poor pupils have a bigger chance for improvement, and 
it is harder to improve high records than it is to improve 
low ones. The tests will stimulate work with classes 
that need it most ; and they will tend to put courage into 
poor classes, since these can make just as good showing in 
improvement as good classes can. The tests will also 
help to correct the evil of laziness on the part of bright 
pupils, who, because they are already well up with the 
average, only waste their time. If they make no im- 
provement during a period, this fact will show that they 
have been idling. 

A SCIENTIFIC BASIS FOR SCHOOL MARKS 

Business men have had very little confidence in school 
marks, largely because they know that the marks represent 
a mixture of considerations and it is impossible to tell 
which consideration was dominant. 

Some teachers say that marks should be given on 
absolute attainments, that those who cannot come up to 
the standard should be marked in such a way as to em- 
phasize their failure. They think it is sentimental to 
mark on any other basis. Other teachers argue that the 

[50] 



THE NATIONAL TESTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

only fair basis for marking is furnished by improvement 
and effort. If a pupil works hard and shows fair improve- 
ment, such a teacher will give a high mark as a reward for 
effort even if the absolute attainment is still low. 

Much may be said for both these views. It is unreason- 
able to penalize a pupil because he started with a handicap, 
if he makes a fair effort and secures a reasonable improve- 
ment. At the same time it is a gross injustice to the 
community to send out graduates with high marks when 
they have not attained the degree of mastery that entitles 
them to such marks. We need both an absolute and a 
relative standard, and the wrong lies in mixing the two 
indiscriminately. 

The only scientific basis for school marks is a double 
record of absolute attainment and relative improvement, 
separately stated. 

These standardized tests, used at the beginning and 
at the end of short periods of intensive work, afford first 
of all an absolute measurement of attainments ; and it is 
pure sentimentality to hide weakness. But during the 
period of study, the improvement that is made is the 
important thing, and the poorest and the best have equal 
credit for what they accomplish. In Gary there was a 
very poor class, made up of those who were left after a 
good class had been selected from the original number. 
That class was so much below grade that the teacher was 
exceedingly discouraged. But during a drill period of 
five weeks it showed an improvement of 35 per cent in 
spelling, whereas the brightest class showed an improve- 
ment of 25 per cent. It was a triumph which changed 
that backward class with a discouraged teacher into a 
courageous group of boys and girls who were determined 
to go forward even if they were behind at the start. In 
another case one class was so much in advance of the 

[51] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

others that warnings were given to the effect that im- 
provement could hardly be shown on the second test. 
But on the second test it showed greater improvement 
than any other class, and the real efficiency of the teacher 
was demonstrated. 

HOW IMPROVEMENT SHOULD BE MEASURED 

Statisticians have held various views as to how improve- 
ment on these standard tests ought to be figured. Some 
have said that if 10 errors were shown on one test, and 
5 on the next, the errors were reduced by 50 per cent, 
which was the measure of improvement ; and that if only 
4 errors were made on the first test and 2 on the second, 
the measure of improvement was likewise 50 per cent. 

The fallacy in such figuring is shown by comparing the 
case of the boy or girl who misspells 25 out of 50 words 
on the first test, with the one of the boy or girl who mis- 
spells only 5 words. As this test is selected from 700 
words, missing 50 per cent indicates that 350 of the entire 
list need to be learned, and missing 10 per cent indicates 
that only 70 need to be learned. Shall the person who 
learns only 35 words after the first test have equal credit 
for improvement with the person who learns 175 ? That 
is obviously absurd. 

Also, we can readily see that the person who has 70 
words to learn and gets 35 of them has done nearly the 
same amount of work as the person who has 350 to learn 
and gets 35 of them. In the first case the improvement is 
from 90 per cent to 95, and in the second case it is from 
50 per cent to 55, — or 5 points in each case. 

It is no doubt easier to learn 35 words out of 350 than 
it is to learn 35 out of 70, since the last 70 are probably 
more difficult than the middle 70. But the person who 
has learned all of 700 words but the last 70 has put a 

[ 52 1 



THE NATIONAL TESTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

large amount of work on the 70 also (through having 
gone over them along with the rest of the 700), and needs 
less additional work to complete the mastery of them. 

The author's conclusion is that there can be no fairer 
basis for figuring improvement as shown on these tests 
than by measuring points of advance, — from 50 per 
cent to 55, improvement 5 points (not per cent), and 
from 90 per cent to 95, improvement 5 points also. But 
elementary and advanced tests need to be given together 
to furnish a fair measure of all improvement; for if a 
class has a median of 90 per cent and improves to a median 
of 95 per cent, it is certain that many members made 100 
per cent, and there is no record of how much they might 
have improved. To the extent that 100 per cent is reached 
there is no measurement. To meet this difficulty, ele- 
mentary and advanced tests are given at the same time, 
and improvement on both is added together. If a class 
starts at 90 per cent on elementary spelling and at 65 
per cent on advanced spelling, and if it advances to 95 
per cent on elementary and 75 per cent on advanced 
spelling, the total advance has been 5 points on elementary 
and 10 points on advanced spelling, or 15 points in all. 
This record is to be compared with that of another class 
which began with an average of 75 per cent on elementary 
spelling and 50 per cent on advanced, and which on the 
final test averaged 90 per cent on elementary spelling, 
showing an improvement of 15 points, and averaged 
50 per cent on advanced spelling, showing no improve- 
ment. Each class made an improvement of 15 points, 
and the advanced class had as good a chance as the poor 
class to make a showing. 

Improvement is best measured by the simple difference 
between the second record and the first record. But as 
a class approaches 100 per cent, the tests fail fully to 

[53] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



measure all who reach 100 per cent, and full measurement 
requires that an advanced test on which 100 per cent 
cannot be made by any pupil be given at the same time. 

VALUE OF THE TESTS TO PUPILS 

When the tests are carried through and the pupils 
correct the errors and grade the papers, they are brought 
face to face with their own weaknesses. They realize 
that every shade of unfairness, partiality, and favoritism 
has been removed, and they see a cold, scientific record 
of their own work, produced by an impersonal test ma- 
chine. The effect on their minds is very marked. They 
are shocked out of their self-complacency, and if anything 
will make them go to work, this experience will. 

The very exact and fixed conditions of each test are a 
powerful stimulus in themselves. Conditions in the 
classroom have always been loose and changeable; but 
these tests are carried out according to the standard 
principles of sports. Every one knows the rules exactly. 
They are applied impartially. And the pupils know all 
that is done. The work is done rapidly. The dragging 
pace of the classroom makes some pupils nervous, and 
no wonder. It is refreshing for them to be put in a posi- 
tion to answer 50 questions in 15 minutes instead of 10 
in an hour. All games are carried on at normal or com- 
petitive speed — 5 to 15 minutes in a unit such as a foot- 
ball quarter or a baseball inning — and these tests are in 
similar short units. The quick, hard rush always appeals 
to the American. The author has seen teachers enter 
strange classes, which were in great disorder, and in three 
minutes have the pupils quiet and hard at work on one of 
these tests. Nothing starts off a term and a new kind of 
work so well as a test on such prior work as must furnish a 
basis for what is to be done. 

[ 54 ] 



. 



THE NATIONAL TESTS IN THE CLASSROOM 

The tests are confessedly narrow and imperfect. Others 
need continually to be added that will measure other 
important powers of mind; and ways of escaping the 
limitations of the tests should constantly be sought. 
These tests are offered only as a good beginning, a blazing 
of the trail toward a new and more exact method of teach- 
ing certain definite things in such a way as to leave freedom 
for broad teaching of other matters that are still more 
important and which are entirely beyond the scope of 
such tests. 



55 ] 



PART TWO — THE TESTS 



TWO SERIES OF THE NATIONAL BUSINESS 
ABILITY TESTS 

With Directions for Giving and Grading Scientifically 
General Directions for Giving Tests 

FORMAL tests should be given by an "examiner" 
but corrected under direction of the teacher, two 
in the room all the time. 

1. Read the directions word for word to the class, 
pausing after each step for them to be carried out. Do 
not give any explanations whatever. If questions are 
asked, read the directions again with any emphasis that will 
make the meaning clear, and then say, "I cannot answer 
questions. You will have to use your best judgment." 

2. Do not waste any time; go ahead at a natural 
rate, but be careful not to be too quick or the minds of 
slow pupils will not follow you. Any single test should 
be given, checked, and rechecked in a 40-minute period, 
but tabulating will usually have to go over into another 
period. The entire section of grammar and punctuation 
tests together can most conveniently be marked in one 
period, checked up in a second, and tabulated in a third. 
Take up all papers (including any unused test papers) 
between periods, and lock them up without looking at 
them. Teachers should not recheck papers. The few 
errors overlooked by pupils will not affect the class 
average if directions have been followed faithfully. 

3. The tests become an ideal lesson if you return the 
papers to the owners for review, and place on them the 

[56] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

responsibility of reporting their own grades. Answer 
questions freely at this point. Tell pupils they must 
be as careful not to get too high a mark as not to get too 
low a mark, for then on the next test they will not show 
the improvement which after all is equally important 
with a high grade to start with. If when you tabulate 
any pupil hesitates in giving his grades, insist on seeing 
the paper, or if you suspect the pupil might cheat, be 
sure to look at the paper. Inspection of all suspicious 
circumstances will eliminate errors. Let it be clearly 
known that all papers will be taken up for inspection, even 
if no careful inspection is intended. 

4. Make a point of seeing that papers marked the first 
time by dull pupils are marked the second time by bright 
pupils. Go arbitrarily and make these exchanges without 
remark. 

5. It will save time to the teacher to have a pupil who 
writes a good hand copy the names of the class on the 
tabulating sheets before the test is made, and also copy 
on the board the standard averages of grammar-school 
graduates, high-school graduates, and experienced em- 
ployees, so that each pupil can see on what level he 
stands as the checking goes on. On the next test he 
should have risen at least one level. 

1. Test on Tabulation (Mental Alertness) 

A general intelligence test, requiring ability to carry four 
conditions in mind at one time in applying instructions. 

Time allowed, 2 minutes. At the end of that time, 
turn over, cover, or erase the test. 

Average (miscellaneous), 3.65 errors. 1 

1 The averages on these technical business tests have usually been 
derived from tests on 50 to 150 business employees in selected business 
houses, with results confirmed from various quarters. Usually em- 

[57] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



First Series l 

From the following make two lists, one of boys and one 
of girls, who are 12 years old or over, who have passed 
the 7th grade, and have an average of 80 per cent or over. 



Age 



Now in Grade Average 



Jones, Kitty 
Boswell, Joseph 
Harte, Flo. . . 
Cousins, John . 
Ryan, Will M. . 
Anderson, Jeanne 
Stearns, Harry . 
Fogarty, May . 
Foster, Joel . . 
Williams, Molly 
Jepson, Jack 
Johnson, Harry . 
Baxter, Luella . 
Robinson, Ed. . 
Anderson, Martin 



10 
14 
12 
16 
13 
14 
15 
16 
14 
13 
12 
14 
12 
13 
11 



6 

7 

8 

7 

8 

9 
lO- 
ll 
11 

7 

8 

7 

8 

9 

8 



86% 
60% 
90% 
50% 

75% 
90% 
85% 
92% 
87% 
85% 
82% 
76% 
85% 
75% 
85% 



ployees tested were grouped closely around the average, with little 
deviation in any one group ; but the groups appeared to be on various 
levels according to salary paid, etc. In schools, on the other hand, the 
deviation was so wide that the numbers tested appeared entirely in- 
adequate to furnish a basis for reliable averages, and little use has so 
far been made of the accumulated results. The distribution by levels 
has appeared to be more comprehensible and useful to business men and 
teachers than statistical calculation of "probable error" or "standard 
deviation/' for which the material so far available has not really been 
adequate. Many observations have tended to confirm the general 
reliability of these tentative standards. The "levels" are: 1. Satis- 
factory business employees, such as stenographers and bookkeepers in 
high-grade houses; 2. Graduates of commercial departments of high 
schools; 3. Graduates of grammar schools who would be acceptable 
as beginners in first-class business houses ; and in addition, 4. The level 
below No. 3; and 5, the maximum, or level above No. 1, which was 
actually attained by five or more persons tested. 

1 One of these tests may be given, and at a later date, if a fresh test 
is required, the second series may be used. 

[58] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Second Series 

From the following make two lists, one of men and one 
of women, who are over 40 years of age, who live in the 
8th, 9th, 10th, or 11th wards, and who have insurance 
of $1000 or over. 



Age Next 
Birthday 



Ward 



Insurance 



Ryan, Mrs. Kate . 
Jones, Joseph . . 
Burton, Florence . 
Dabney, John . . 
Ridgely, McDonnell 
Weldon, Jennie . . 
Stanley, Henry . . 
Harcourt, Mrs. John 
Girton, Joseph . . 
Watson, Mrs. Mary D 
Hazlitt, John M. . 
Johnson, M. H. D. 
Kingsley, Mrs. James 
Roberts, J. Edward 
Burton, Martin H. 



30 
55 
41 
65 
41 
45 
50 
55 
45 
41 
44 
45 
42 
41 
40 



9 
10 
11 
11 

7 
8 
7 
8 
9 
8 



$1,200 

700 

1,100 

500 

900 

1,300 

1,100 

1,400 

2,000 

1,100 

1,050 

850 

1,100 

800 

1,000 



DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING 

(To be read word for word, without explanations. Re- 
peat if necessary. 

(Distribute test papers on the bottom of which answers 
can be written, or half sheets of paper, by preference 5% 

by8f) 

Step 1. Write your name at the top of the sheet in 
the center. In the second line at the left, write the name 
of your school, in the center of the same line your class, 
and at the right of the same line the date. At the left 
of the next line write "Checked by," and at the left of 
the line below write "Rechecked by" (unless these words 
are printed on the test). 

[59] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Step 2. Look at the test. Make two lists of names, 
one of boys and one of girls (or one of men and one of 
women). On the third line of your sheet, in the center, 
write the word "Boys" ("Men"). Skip six lines and 
in the center of the next line write "Girls" ("Women"). 
Consider each name carefully. (First Series.) When you 
find the name of a boy who is 12 years old or over, who 
has passed the seventh grade, and has an average of 
80 per cent or over, write it in the first list. When you 
find the name of a girl who meets all these conditions, 
write it in the second list. (Second Series.) When you 
find the name of a man who is over 40 years of age, who 
lives in one of the wards mentioned — the 8th, 9th, 10th, 
or 11th — and who has insurance amounting to $1000 or 
over, write it in the first list. When you find the name 
of a woman who meets all these conditions, write it in 
the second list. 

You are allowed 2 minutes in which to complete the 
work. Start now. 

Step 3. Exchange papers. Write your name in the 
line after "Checked by." 

KEY TO FIRST SERIES 

Step Jf. As I slowly read the names that should be in 
the list, look for each name. The order in which you 
find it does not matter. Look the entire list through, 
and if you do not find the name make a small, heavy 
cross in a blank line below. If you do find it, make a 
small dash after it. 

The names of the boys are — 
Boys 
Stearns, Harry 
Foster, Joel 
Jepson, Jack 
[60] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 
The names of the girls are — 

Girls 

Anderson, Jeanne 
Fogarty, May 
Harte, Flo. 
Baxter, Luella 

Do you find any other names? If so, make a small, 
heavy cross after each. 

Women 

Florence Burton 
Jennie Weldon 
Mrs. Joseph H. Harcourt 
Mrs. James Kingsley 

Men 

Henry Stanley 
Joseph Girton 
John M. Hazlitt 

Step 5. There are seven names in all. Count each of 
the names after which you have a small dash showing 
that it is correct, and then add the omitted names for 
which you have a cross in one of the blank lines below. 
If you count just seven with both of these, that will show 
you have the names correctly marked (omitting any name 
after which you have a cross because it was a name I did 
not read). This is simply a test to see if you have marked 
the papers correctly. 

Step 6. Now count up the mistakes, the names that 
should not be in the list, which you have marked with a 
cross, and the omitted names for which you have a cross 
in the blank lines below. Count both lists together, 

[61] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

girls and boys (men and women). Write the number 
of errors in upper right-hand corner opposite "No. of 
Errors." 

Step 7. Exchange papers again. Write your name 
after "Rechecked by" at the head of the sheet. 

Step 8. As I slowly read each name that should be in 
the list, if you find it see that there is a small dash after 
it, and if you do not find it see that there is a cross in a 
blank line below. Do not make a second dash if there 
is one already, nor a second cross; but if you find the 
name not marked or incorrectly marked, make the mark- 
ing right. If it is omitted, and there is no cross in a 
blank line below, make a small, heavy cross. (Repeat 
the names from Step 4.) 

Do you find any other names which do not already 
have a cross after them? If so, mark them with a 
cross. 

Step 9. Now count up all the crosses, both those after 
names that are wrong (not in the list) and those in the 
blank lines below for names omitted, and see that the 
number of errors is written in the upper right-hand corner 
of the sheet. If the number already written there is 
correct, that is sufficient. Do not write it a second 
time. If it is incorrect, first cross it out, and then write 
beside it the correct number. 

Step 10. Return papers to owners, — the original writers 
whose names are at the top of the sheet. 

Step 11. Look over your paper and see if there are 
any crosses that should not be there. If you think you 
find a mistake, show it to me. Do not make any changes 
whatever on the paper yourself. I will make them. If 
you find two numbers written in the upper right-hand 
corner, show me the paper so that I can mark out the one 
that should have been crossed out. Notice that the 

[62] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

directions say "who have passed the 7th grade." If you 
have included Molly Williams, notice that she is now in 
the 7th grade : she has not passed it. (Second test : 
Notice that directions say "over 40 years of age." If 
you have included Martin H. Burton, notice that he is 
not over 40.) 

Step 12. As I call the roll, give me the number of 
errors marked on your paper. Then we will collect the 
papers and I will look them over. 

2. Reproducing Instructions 

This is a test of memory and of willingness to work 
hard (natural industry). 

Time allowed, 5 minutes to memorize the instructions, 
and 10 minutes to reproduce what can be remembered. 
The essential facts are more important than the wording. 

Average for all classes, Fair — 3 (on a scale of 5). 

First Series 

INSTRUCTIONS 

The following department store sales slips consist of 
three distinct portions intended to be torn apart; the 
upper portion is to be used as a shipping label when 
goods are to be delivered, the middle portion is to be 
handed to the customer and a duplicate sent to the 
accounting department, and the lower portion is to be 
filed by the inspector as a means of tracing errors. 

The large figure "1" is the department number, and 
the sales person's number should be written after this 
in three different places on every check; but do not fill 
out the top portion if goods are taken. 

The price of each article should be written in the 

[63] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

column "Price," and the total amount under " Exten- 
sion," but the same amount should not be repeated — 
write a single amount under "Extension." 

For charge accounts and C. O. D., use only the slip on 
which the word "Charge" appears. When goods are 
taken on charge accounts, "F. M." should be written 
for signature of floorman ; the same thing should be done 
when goods are charged to one address and sent to another, 
or when an exchange is made on a cash slip. 

"Buyer" maybe indicated as "Self," "Dau. Ella," or 
the like. 

Second Series 

INSTRUCTIONS l 

The following wholesale sales slips consist of three 
distinct portions intended to be torn apart; the left- 
hand portion is to be used as a shipping label, the middle 
portion is to serve as an invoice to the customer, and the 
small coupon at the left is to be filed for reference by the 
shipping clerk. A carbon copy of the whole goes to the 
bookkeeper. 

The printed figure "1" indicates the division in which 
the goods are sold, and the house number for the order 
(called "Our No.") should be written after this on each 
of the three portions. In addition the customer's order 
number should be written on each portion under "Your 
No." 

1 This second series would ordinarily not be given under four months 
after the first. If given within a week after the first it may serve to 
discover ability to avoid confusion of one series of instructions with 
another slightly different. Each point of confusion may be marked 
with a "C" and the number of points right penalized by deducting 1 for 
each instance of confusion. A third series will consist of entirely different 
instructions, for a quite different style of invoice. 

[64] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

The price of each article should be written in the column 
"Price," and the total amount under "Extension," but 
the same amount should not be repeated, — write a 
single amount under "Extension." 

For charge accounts and C. O. D., use only the slip on 
which the word "charge" appears. When goods are 
shipped on charge accounts, the invoice must bear the 
O. K. of the credit manager, but this does not apply to 
C. O. D. or cash bills. 

After "Ordered by" insert the name of the individual 
giving the order on C. O. D. and charge invoices, but not 
on cash bills. 

On cash bills the shipping label should not be filled out. 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING 

(To be read word for word without explanations. Re- 
peat if necessary. 

(Distribute letter-size sheets of paper, one sheet to each 
person tested. A sheet with a red margin line at the left 
is preferable.) 

Step 1. Write your name at the top of the sheet in 
the middle, and in the next line at the left write the 
school, in the center of the same line write the class, 
and at the right of the same line write the date. On the 
next line write at the left "Checked by." On the fourth 
line write "Rechecked by" at the left. In the fifth line, 
at the center, write the word "Instructions." 

Step 2. (The Instructions to be memorized should be 
covered until this point is reached. If they are handed 
out on slips of paper, they should be left on the desk 
turned face down until the test-giver says, "Turn over 
your test sheets.") I will allow you five minutes in 
which to memorize as much of these instructions as you 
can. If you get only one third of them you will do as 

[ 65 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

well as the average. As the facts are more important 
than the wording, I suggest that you take the facts in 
order and try to fix them in mind. Now begin. 

Step 3. Time is up. (Instructions should be covered. 
If slips have been given out, say, "Turn over your printed 
papers.") You now have ten minutes in which to write 
out as much as you can remember. Leave a margin of 
about one inch on each side of your paper, in which 
we can check up mistakes. Begin with a paragraph in- 
dention under the word "Instructions" which you have 
already written. 

Step 4" Time is up. All stop short. Exchange papers. 
Write your name on the blank line after "Checked by," 

Step 5. There are twenty distinct facts stated in these 
instructions, and I will indicate them briefly, writing 
them on the board. Where you find fact No. 1 stated, 
make a figure "1" in the margin; where you find fact 
No. 2 stated, make a figure "2" in the margin. It does 
not matter whether they are in exactly the same order 
as I give them, though they will naturally come in that 
order. In case you are in doubt whether a given fact is 
properly stated or not, or you do not quite understand 
what I write on the board, always raise your hand and 
ask me. In marking these papers you must absolutely 
know whether you are right or not. If you do not know, 
or are not sure that you know, you must find out. Raise 
your hand and ask me. 



FACTS IN THE INSTRUCTIONS 

First Series 

1. "Department store sales slips" must be distinctly 
mentioned, 

2. "Three distinct portions," 
[66 ] 






TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

3. "to be torn apart," 

4. "upper portion used as shipping label when goods 
are to be delivered," 

5. "middle portion to be handed to the customer," 

6. "duplicate to be sent to accounting department," 

7. "small lower portion to be filed by the inspector," 

8. "as a means of tracing errors." 

9. "Large figure '1' is department number." 

10. "Sales person's number written after this," 

11. "in three different places on every check" ; 

12. "but do not fill out top portion if goods are taken." 

13. "Price of each article to be written in column 
< Price/" 

14. "total amount under 'Extension,'" 

15. "but same amount not repeated, — single amount 
under 'Extension.'" 

16. "For charge accounts and C. O. D. use only slip 
on which word 'Charge' appears." 

17. "When goods are taken on charge accounts, 'F. M.' 
should be written for signature of floorman," 

18. "likewise when goods are charged to one address 
and sent to another," 

19. "or when an exchange is made on a cash slip." 

20. "'Buyer' may be indicated as 'Self,' 'Dau. Ella,' 
or the like." 

Second Series 

1. "Wholesale sales slips" must be distinctly men- 
tioned. 

2. "Three distinct portions," 

3. "to be torn apart," 

4. "left-hand portion used as shipping label," 

5. "middle portion to serve as invoice to customer," 

6. "small coupon at left filed for reference." 

[67] 






COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

7. "Carbon copy of whole goes to bookkeeper." 

8. "Printed figure 'I 9 indicates division in which 
goods are sold," 

9. "and house number ('Our No.') should be written 
after this," 

10. "on each of three portions." 

11. "Also customer's number written on each portion 
under 'Your No.'" 

12. "Price each written in column 'Price,'" 

13. "and total amount under 'Extension,'" 

14. "but same amount not repeated, — single amount 
under 'Extension.'" 

15. "For charge accounts and C. O. D. use only slip 
on which word 'Charge' appears." 

16. "When goods are shipped on charge accounts, in- 
voice must bear O. K. of credit manager," 

17. "but this does not apply to C. O. D. or cash bills." 

18. "After 'Ordered by' insert name of individual, 
giving order on C. O. D. and charge invoices," 

19. "but not on cash bills." 

20. "On cash bills the shipping label should not be 
filled out." 

Step 6. Now look over the paper to see that every 
statement made is actually correct. If the statement is 
contrary to facts, erase or scratch out the figure indicating 
that point as covered; but change of wording does not 
matter. If you are in doubt as to whether the fact is 
fairly stated, ask me. (Allow as much time as necessary 
for this rechecking.) 

Step 7. Count up the number of facts correctly stated 
in the paper. If 8 is the last number, do not stop with 
8, but count them all over to see whether one or two have 
not been omitted. Write the number of facts correctly 
reproduced in the upper right-hand corner of the paper. 

[68] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Step 8. Exchange papers again. Write your name on 
the blank line after "Rechecked by." 

Step 9. Silently verify the statements of facts as I 
have them written on the board, taking one at a time as 
I point to each. If you are in doubt as to whether the 
fact is correctly stated, ask me as we go along. Start 
now with No. 1. (Slowly point to each of the others, 
warning the quick ones not to go faster than you point, 
so that the entire class can together give attention to 
each point as you come to it.) 

Step 10. Once more count up the number of facts 
correctly reproduced. If your count does not agree 
with the first count, cross out the figure first made and 
write the correct count beside it. But to be sure you are 
right, count the facts over again. Do not leave two 
figures there so that I shall not know which is right. 

Step 11. Return papers to owners, who will be given 
a few minutes to look them over and see if they have 
been fairly marked. Do not make any changes in the 
marking yourself. If you think you find an error, show 
it to me and I will make the change. 

Step 12. As I call the roll, give me the number of facts 
you had right. If you have as many as 8 facts right, I 
shall call that "Fair — 3" (on a scale of 5), 11 facts 
"Good — S§," 14 facts "Good — 4," 16 facts "Ex- 
cellent— 4f," 18 facts "Excellent — 5." If you have 
only 7 facts right I will still call it "Fair — 3," but if 
you have but 6 facts I will call it "Poor — 2J," 5 facts 
"Poor — 2," 4 facts "Poor — 1|," 2 or 3 facts "Failure 
— 1." But I will make these ratings myself. You give 
me just the number of facts you find right. 

(Collect papers.) 



[ 69 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

3. Test on Invoicing 

Printed blanks to be filled in are furnished with this 
test. 

Follow the "Instructions" in the test on Reproducing 
Instructions. This is an intelligence test on applying 
the instructions. 

This will always consist of entering sales transactions 
on invoice forms with 50 blank spaces to be filled or not 
filled. It is a test of ability to fill out any business blank 
according to instructions. 

First, the test on memorizing instructions should be 
given (occupying 15 minutes), and then 15 minutes may 
be devoted to this test (always with the instructions at 
hand for reference). 

Average for bookkeeping clerks familiar with invoices 
is 12J errors or 75 per cent (2 per cent deducted for each 
error), average of five highest, one error or 98 per cent (to 
indicate a conservative maximum possibility). 

MATERIAL FOR THE TEST 

First Series 

1. Mr. E. H. Crain, 213 Warner Avenue, near Oakley 
Avenue, buys a $35 overcoat, pays $25 on it, and asks 
that you send it C. O. D. for the balance. 

2. A customer approaches the counter with a pair of 
gloves which do not fit; the check would indicate that 
she paid $2.50 for them. You finally fit her with a pair 
costing $3.50. She pays you the $1 difference and takes 
the gloves with her. 

3. Mrs. D. M. Ferry, 711 Central Park Avenue, wishes 
to charge ten yards of dress goods at $2.75 per yard to 
her account, and have goods sent to Mrs. Ivy Marshall, 
318 Rush Street, near Superior Street, Apartment 6, 

[70] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Second Series 

1. Customer's Order No. 1620, Our Order No. 8765. 
Sold to Henry J. Sigel & Co. 10 bolts of #lla Sheeting, 
bleached, @ $5. American Express, rush. Cash $10, 
balance C. O. D. Address Ilion, 111. Order given by- 
Mr. Sigel. 

2. Customer's Order No. 67, Our Order No 8766. 
Sold to Martha J. Warren for cash, Milliner's Display 
Form #8, $5. Taken. 

3. Customer's Order No. 376, Our No. 8767. Sold to 
James Markham, 107 S. Division St., Peoria, 111., 1 doz. 
Men's #A14 Half Hose, black, @ $1.67 doz., 1 doz. #364 
Men's Black Belts @ 600 ea., 3 doz. Assorted Neckties 
@ $3 doz. Ship by freight and charge to account. Order 
signed H. J. 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING 

(Read the instructions word for word, without ex- 
planations. Repeat if necessary. 

(The blank forms to be distributed will contain the re- 
production test, which will be memorized and reproduced 
first, but not graded, and also the material for the test 
on Invoicing. After the reproduction test, collect the 
written papers. Students may now refer to the original 
instructions as freely as they wish. The written papers 
for the reproduction test may be distributed and graded 
after this test has been completed and graded.) 

Step 1. Write your name in the space at the head of 
the Test on Invoicing, and in the second line the school, 
class, and date. I also assign you sales numbers as 
follows: You No. 1, you No. 2 (etc., till every person 
to take the test has a number). 

Step 2. You are now somewhat familiar with the 

[71] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

instructions for filling out these invoice blanks, but you 
are at liberty to refer to the printed instructions as freely 
as you like. You will find three sales transactions, and 
three blank forms in which to enter them. I will allow 
you fifteen minutes in which to enter these sales transac- 
tions. Use 23 as the number for the "Inspector," and 
today's date. Write with ink by preference. 



[ 72 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 



Name 

School 

Checked by 

Rechecked by_ 



.Class. 



.Date. 



No. Errors. 



1 9 MO 



INSPECTOR'S NO. 



» I 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 I 6 

DATE 

2 191 



SEND TO 



SALES PERSON'S NO. 

la _ 



ADDRESS 



NEAR ST. 



6 APARTMENT 



INSTRUCTIONS 



PKGS. TO 
ENCLOSE 



Charge 

Address 

Order No. 
or Buyer. 



10 



354 



4 



QUANTITY 


ARTICLES 


PRICE 


EXTENSION 




11 










12 










13 




























1 _M. 


DePd by 


FLOORMAN 





DATE- 



15 



191- 



AM'T OF SALE 



16 



354 4 



17 



[73] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



1 9 | *0 


U | 12 | \ 


1 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 


INSPECTORS NO. 

35 


DATE 


SALES PERSON'S NO. 

1 

sfi 1 PI 1 n ._._ 




SEND TO 




38 


ADDRESS 




39 


NEAR ST. 




40 APARTMENT 41 


INSTRUCTIONS 


PKGS. TO 

ENCLOSE 



Charge 

Address 

Order No. 
or Buyer. 



44 



354 



42 



43 



4 



QUANTITY 


ARTICLES 


PRICE 


EXTENSION 




45 
















































1 46 __ 


FLOORMAN 

Del'd by 47 





DATE- 



48 



191- 



AM'T OF SALE 



50 



I 49 

[74 ] 



354 4 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 





1 9 | JO 


« r a I f I 


2|3| 


4 1 


5 


6 1 




INSPECTOR'S NO. 

18 


DATE 

19 191 


SALES PERSON'S NO. 

1 


SEND TO 


21 


ADDRESS 


22 


NEAR ST. 


APARTMENT 


INSTRUCTIONS 


229 


PKGS. TO 

ENCLOSE 


For 


23 


Addresi 


5 


24 6 






QUANTITY 


ARTICLES 


PRICE 


EXTENSION 




25 










26 










27 




























1 

1 28 


29 




SALES PERSON'S NO. 


INSPECTOR'S NO. 


AM'T REC'D 


AM'T OF SALE 


30 


31 




32 




33 



DATE 



34 



RECEIPT 

IN CASE OF NON-DELIVERY PRESENT ] ADJUST m G 
THIS RECEIPT OR TELEPHONE V „,*'. 
PRIVATE EXCHANGE ONE -ASK FOR J BUKtAU 

229 6 

[75] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Step 3. The fifteen minutes are up and we will stop. 
Exchange papers. Write your name in the blank space 
after "Checked by." 

Step £. Near the first blank space in the upper left- 
hand corner of the first invoice blank you will see a small 
figure "1," as a key number to aid in checking up this 
test; for the date space there is a small figure "2," etc. 
As I slowly read the entries that should be made in the 
spaces, I will first call the key number and you will locate 
the space. If the entry is incorrect or no entry at all has 
been made, make a small, heavy cross in the margin near 
the key number. If you find entries in any other spaces 
which I do not read, mark each with a cross as an error. 

KEY TO FIKST SERIES 

Space No. 1 — 23 

2 — Current date, as Feb. 4, 1919 

3 — Number assigned 

4 — Mr. E. H. Crain 

5 — 213 Warner Ave. 

6 — Oakley Ave. 

7 — CO. D. $10 

8 — Mr. E. H. Crain 

9 — 213 Warner Ave. 

10 — Self 

11 — Overcoat (under "Articles''); 35.00 

(under "Extension"; all ciphers 
may be omitted) 

12 — Paid (under "Articles," second line); 

25.00 (under "Extension") 

13 — Balance C. O. D. (under "Articles," 

third line); 10.00 (under "Exten- 
sion") 

14 — Sales number 
[76] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

(Notice that no signature of floorman is required. Mark 
as an error if there is an entry here.) 

15 — Same date 

16 — Sales number 

17 — 35.00 

The next transaction should be entered on the last 
blank, as it is a cash transaction and the instructions 
distinguish between slips with the word "Charge" on 
them and those without. If, however, the "Charge" 
slip has been used for the cash sale, do not count all 
wrong, but make one cross at bottom of two sales slips 
showing two errors, and then count as right the items that 
are in the corresponding spaces on the wrong blank. I 
will read the alternative spaces after the right ones. 

Space No. 18 (35) — £3 (or omit) 

19 (36) — Date (give correct date or omit) 

20 (37) — Sales number (or omit) 

21 (88)— No entry 

22 (39) — No entry 

23 (42) — No entry 

24 (43) — No entry 

25 (45) — Gloves (under "Articles"); 3.50 

(under "Extension") 

26 (No key number) — Credit gloves re- 

turned (under "Articles"); 
2.50 (under "Extension") 

27 (No key number) — Cash (under "Ar- 

ticles"); 1.00 (under "Exten- 
sion") 

28 (46) — Sales number 

29 (47) — F. M. (the O. K. of the floorman) 

30 (49) — Sales number 

31 (No space assigned; if omitted, mark 

error) — 23 

[ 77 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

32 (No space assigned; if omitted, mark 

error) — 1.00 

33 (50) — 1.00 or 3.50 (the first preferred) 

34 (48) — Date (give current date) 

If the second transaction was on the wrong slip, the 
third will be also, and if you have marked two extra errors 
for this by crosses at the bottoms of both slips, you may 
allow credit for the alternative numbers which I will read. 

Space No. 35 (18) — 23 

36 (19) — Date (give current date) 

37 (20) — Sales number 

38 (21) — Mrs. Ivy Marshall 

39 (22) — 318 Rush St. 

40 (No key number) — Superior St. 

41 (No key number) — 6 

42 (23) — Mrs. D. M. Ferry 

43 (24) — 711 Central Park Ave. 

44 (No key number) — Self 

45 (25) — 10 yds. (under "Quantity"); 

dress goods (under "Articles") ; 
2.75 (under "Price"); 27.50 
(under "Extension") 

46 (28) — Sales number 

47 (29) — F. M. (O. K. of floorman) 

48 (34) — Date (give current date) 

49 (30) — Sales number 

50 (33)— 27.50 
If dollar signs are used, do not count it wrong; but 

items under "Articles" should begin with capital letters. 
If in first and second transactions any entries are made in 
the "Price" column, they should be marked as errors, 
whether amount is repeated or not. If footing is made in 
the last line in addition to being made once above, and 
a third time in the space "Amount of Sale," mark that 
[ 78 1 




TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

wrong. If there are additional entries in such spaces as 
"Pkgs. to Enclose" which are not needed yet do no 
harm, do not count them as errors, but extra entries in 
spaces where instructions would be departed from should 
be marked as errors. 

Step 5. Count up the number of crosses you find which 
indicate errors, and write the total in the space after "No. 
of Errors" in the upper right-hand corner of the first page. 

Step 6. Exchange papers. Write your name in the 
blank after the words "Rechecked by." Verify and 
correct the marking as I read the key a second time, but 
do not make any additional marks where the first marking 
is all right. If you find any items that are correct yet 
are marked with crosses, draw a circle around the cross 
which is wrong. 

At the end, again count up carefully the crosses in- 
dicating errors, and if you find a mistake has been made, 
be sure to cross out the old total of errors in the upper 
right-hand corner of the first page before writing in what 
you are sure is the right count. If your count does not 
agree with the first count, count a second time very 
carefully. 

Step 7. Return papers to owners. You may now look 
over your own papers, and if you find any crosses indicat- 
ing errors which you do not think are fair, call my atten- 
tion to them. Do not make any alterations on the paper 
yourself, however. If anything is wrong, I will change it. 

To get the rating on this test we deduct from 100 per 
cent, 2 per cent for each error. This percentage we can 
compare with the national average, which is 75 per cent, 
corresponding to 12^ errors. 



79 ] 



GMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



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[ 80] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 



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[81 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



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82 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

KEY TO SECOND SERIES 

As instructions state that charge and C. O. D. orders 
should be placed on slips bearing the word "Charge," 
the first transaction cannot be entered on the first slip, 
which bears the words "Sold to" instead of "Charge." 
If the wrong slip has been used, make one cross for each, 
somewhere in the margin, counting two errors for this 
exchange of papers, but otherwise give credit for filling 
in spaces correctly. I will give the alternative key num- 
bers after the first ones (shown in parenthesis) . 
Space No. 1 (No key number) — 1620 

2 (20) — 8765 

3 (21) — 1620 

4 (22) — Date (give current date) 

5 (26) — 8765 

6 (24) — 1620 

7 (26) — 8765 

8 (25) — Henry J. Sigel & Co. 

9 (No key number) — Ilion, 111. 

10 (No key number) — Henry J. Sigel & Co. 

(nothing in space "Address") ; 
Ilion (under "Town"); 111. 
(under "State") 

11 (No key number) — Mr. Sigel 
(There should be nothing under "Credit O. K") 

12 (27) — Date 

13 (29) — 10 bolts (under "Quantity"); 

#lla Sheeting, bleached (in next 
space); 5.00 (under "Price") ; 
50.00 (under "Extension ") 

14 (No key number) — Cash Paid (in middle 

column); 10.00 (under "Ex 
tension") 

r 83 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

15 (No key number) — Balance C. 0. D. (in 

middle column) ; 40.00 (under 
"Extension") 

16 (28)— 50.00 

17 (80) — C. O. D. 

18 (31) — Sales number 

19 (No key number) — Am. Express C. O. D. 

$40.00 
The second sales transaction if erroneously placed on 
the second slip instead of the first will show the alterna- 
tive key numbers indicated as follows : 

20 (1 and others) — Nothing to be entered 

on this shipping label. If any 
entries are made, make one 
cross for all. 

21 (3) — 67 

22 (4) — Date 

23 (5) — 8766 

24 (6)— 67 

25 (8) — Martha J. Warner 

26 (7)— 8766 

27 (12)— Date 

28 (16)— 5.00 

29 (13) — Milliner's Display Form No. 8 (in 

middle column) ; 5.00 (under 
"Extension"; nothing under 
"Price") 

30 (17) — Cash 

31 (18) — Sales number 

Now we come to the final transaction, which is pretty 
sure to have been placed on the last blank slip. 

32 — 376 

33 — 8767 

34 — 376 
[84] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

35 — Feb. 10, 1918 

36 — 8767 

37 — 376 

38 — 8767 

39 — James Markham 

40 — 107 S. Division St., Peoria, 111. (or on 

this part we may omit the street) 

41 — James Markham, 107 S. Division St. 

(under "Address"); Peoria (under 
"Town"); 111. (under "State") 

42 — H.J. 

43 — C. M. (for initials of" Credit Manager," 

who must O. K. this bill) 

44 — 1 doz. (under "Quantity"); Men's 

#A14 Half Hose, blk. (in middle 
column) ; 1.67 (under "Extension" ; 
nothing under "Price") 

45 — 12 or 1 doz. (under "Quantity"); 

#364 Men's Blk. Belts (in 
middle column) ; .60 (under 
"Price"); 7.20 (under "Ex- 
tension") 

46 — 3 doz. (under "Quantity"); Assorted 

Neckties (in middle column) ; 
3.00 (under "Price"); 9.00 
(under "Extension") 

47 — Freight 

48 — 17.87 

49 — Chg. 

50 — Sales number 

If dollar signs are put in, or ciphers for "no cents" 
omitted, do not mark it an error. Items in middle 
column should be capitalized so far as names are con- 
cerned, but not descriptive words like "black." Writing 

[85] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

any amount twice in the middle or invoice portion, and 
making entries under " Price" that should appear only 
under "Extension," should be marked as errors. 

4. Tests on Fundamental Arithmetic 

In business the principal operations are adding and 
multiplying; subtraction is less used, and division still 
less. In shortening these tests we may for convenience 
omit division. The tests on addition, subtraction, and 
multiplication may conveniently be given at one time, 
all three subjects marked one after the other, and none 
checked up till all are finished. With time for giving 
directions, this requires about 12 minutes. The three 
tests may be given and corrected twice in a 40-minute 
period. Some teachers also get the results tabulated, 
but another period may well be used for that. 

When it is desired to get a single record in elementary 
arithmetic, all the speeds may be added together to give 
a single total speed, and all the errors may be added to- 
gether to give a single total number of errors. Care must 
be exercised to avoid counting as "Speed" only figures 
that are right instead of all figures, right or wrong. 

The following averages are very low, representing 
conditions where no attention whatever has been paid 
to drill work on fundamental operations. Where there 
has been a fair amount of drill work, the average for 
grammar-school graduates will be equal to that shown 
for high-school graduates. In business, the speed rapidly 
becomes so high under practice as to be entirely out of 
class with these records ; so the author has preferred to 
give the number of errors that trained business employees 
would make in performing the number of operations 
shown in the corresponding "Speed." Under "Ers.," 
therefore, we see the errors actually made, and under 

[86] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

"B. Ers." the errors that business employees would 
have made in performing the same number of operations 
as shown by the "Speed." It should be understood 
that "Speed" is the count of all figures (right or wrong) 
in the answers obtained during the time allotted to the 
tests. 



General 


Addition 


Subtraction 


Multipli- 
cation 


Total 


Averages 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B. 
Ers. 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B. 

Ers. 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B. 

Ers. 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B. 

Ers. 


Gram. Sch. Grads. 
High Sch. Grads. 


10 
15 


1.3 
1.3 


.33 
.5 


32 
51 


1.8 
1.2 


.3 
.5 


22 

46 


2 

2 


.5 
1. 


64 
112 


5.1 
4.5 


1.1 

2 



FORM OF TABULATING BLANK 

Report on Fundamental Arithmetic Examiner 

Teacher's Name Class School Date . . . 



Pupil's Name 
and Number 


Addition 


Subtraction 


Multipli- 
cation 


Total 
on 2d 


1st 
Sp.Ers. 


2d 
Sp.Ers. 


1st 
Sp.Ers. 


2d 
Sp.Ers. 


1st 
Sp.Ers. 


2d 
Sp.Ers. 


Sp.Ers. 


1 






























2 






























3 






























4 






























. . 5 






























6 






























7 






























8 






























9 






























10 






























11 






























12 





























































Extend as required 



87 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



Name of Pupil 

School Class Date 

Checked by 

Rechecked by 

Total Speed Total Errors 



FIRST SERIES 

Note. These tests are used by permission. Copyright, 1914, by S. A. Courtis, 
Detroit, Michigan. All rights reserved. 

Addition 

Copy one problem below, then add it ; then the 
next. 

Find the sums of as many columns as possible in 
the time allowed. You are not expected to finish 
all. Accuracy is more important than speed. 
Time allowed, 4 minutes. 

927 297 136 486 384 176 277 837 

379 925 340 765 477 783 445 882 

756 473 988 524 881 697 682 595 

837 983 386 140 266 200 594 603 

924 315 353 812 679 366 481 118 

110 661 904 466 241 851 778 781 

854 794 547 355 796 535 849 756 

965 177 192 834 850 323 157 222 

344 124 439 567 733 229 953 525 



Speed (total figures in answers) 
Errors (number figures wrong) 

[88] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Subtraction 

Find the differences for as many problems as 
possible in the time allowed, from left to right. 
You are not expected to finish all. Accuracy is 
more important than speed. Time allowed, 2 
minutes. 



107795491 
77197029 



75088824 
57406394 



91500053 
19901563 



87939983 
72207316 



160620971 
80361837 



51274387 
25842708 



117359208 
36955523 



47222970 
17504943 



115364741 
80195251 



67298125 
29346861 



92057352 
42689037 



113380936 
42556840 



64546329 
48813139 



121961783 
90492726 



109514632 
81268615 



Speed (total figures in answers) 
Errors (number figures wrong) 



[89] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS >ND HOW TO USE THEM 

Multiplication 

Find the product for as many examples as pos- 
sible in the time allowed. You are not expected 
to finish all. Accuracy is more important than 
speed. Time allowed, 3 minutes. 



8246 



3597 
73 



5739 
85 



2648 
46 



4268 

37 



7593 
640 



6428 
58 



8563 
207 



5368 
95 



4792 

84 



7942 

72 



3586 
36 



Speed (total figures in answers) 
Errors (number figures wrong) 



90 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 
SECOND SERIES 

Addition 

Copy one column, then add it ; then copy the next and 
add it, and so on. Find the sums for as many columns as 
possible in 4 minutes, but remember that accuracy is 
more important than speed. 

937 387 145 574 493 275 388 926 

543 901 638 205 274 182 467 930 

647 397 294 706 846 103 365 387 

456 395 412 932 374 997 461 984 

302 764 239 752 364 743 126 304 

563 482 479 274 674 410 203 476 

333 444 555 666 777 888 999 777 

183 294 732 384 605 611 422 833 

412 931 106 874 567 238 432 765 



Subtraction 

Find the difference for as many problems as possible in 
2 minutes. Accuracy is more important than speed. 

118876592 86199923 102611164 98141194 
88278918 68517483 18812574 77318427 



171731082 62385780 228460319 
90472948 36953807 47066634 



58333081 22647382 783092451 103147831 
27158490 9102625 30457980 15894026 



981032657 84210032 29365802 
96132078 20975386 13480274 



[91 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Multiplication 

Find the product for as many examples as pos- 
sible in 3 minutes, remembering that accuracy is 
more important than speed. 

7326 4398 6587 3726 3479 8419 7536 

29 73 84 45 27 680 308 



7623 2310 7935 4376 8365 2183 7306 
93 85 64 37 58 26 77 



DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING FUNDAMENTAL ARITHMETIC 
TESTS 

(To be read word for word, without explanations. 
Repeat if necessary.) 

Read over the directions at the heads of the tests, but 
do not touch pencil to paper till I give you the word. 
(This may be said while papers are being distributed.) 

Step 1. Write name, school, class, and date at the top. 

Step 2. We begin with Addition. We first copy one 
problem three figures wide in the blank space below, 
beginning as far to the left as possible. As soon as one 
column has been copied, add it. Then copy the next 
column, and add that ; and so on. Skip no column. 

You will be allowed four minutes, but of course you 
are not expected to do all the columns. Accuracy is the 
important thing. 

Do not put down a figure till I say "Start." 

(A watch with a second hand is required for this test, 
and the timing must be accurate.) 

Step 3. Turn over the sheet. Subtract these prob- 
lems when I give you the word to start, beginning 

[92] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

at the left-hand side of the top row and going across 
to the right, then taking the next row and going 
across to the right. Do not take the columns up and 
down. 

Subtract as many as you can in two minutes. Of 
course you are not expected to finish all. Remember 
that accuracy is more important than speed. When I 
am ready I will say "Start." 

Step %,. In the next test you will multiply right on 
this paper as many examples as you can, beginning at 
the left of the top row and going across to the right, and 
then taking the second row and going across. Do not 
move downward, and do not skip any. 

You will have to make small figures, but write them 
carefully. You will do as many as possible in three 
minutes, remembering that accuracy is the important 
thing. When I am ready I will say "Start." 

CORRECTING PAPERS 

Step 5. Exchange papers. Has any one his own 
paper still? Now write your name in the blank space 
after "Checked by." 

Step 6. As I read the answers place a small, heavy 
cross just below each figure that is wrong. (Show pupils 
on the board how to make a small, heavy cross.) Mark- 
ing wrong problems will not do. There may be several 
wrong figures in each problem. Place a cross below each 
wrong figure, but do not mark as wrong any figures that 
are missing in the last unfinished problem. These are 
the answers : 

6096 4749 4285 4949 5307 4160 5216 5319 

Step 7. Now count up all of the figures in the answers, 
both right and wrong, including any figures in unfinished 

[93 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

problems, and write the total at the bottom of the page in 
the blank space opposite "Speed" to the left side. Then 
count up the figures that are wrong and write the total in 
the space opposite "Errors" at the bottom of the page. 

Step 8. Turn over the page and^as I read the answers 
to the subtraction problems place a small, heavy cross 
just below each figure that is wrong. Here are the 
answers, reading from left to right across the page. (Be 
careful not to read too fast or too slowly, but keep an 
even speed.) 

30598462 17682430 71598490 

15732667 80259134 25431679 

80403685 29718027 35169490 

37951264 49368315 70824096 

15734190 31469057 28246017 

Step 9. Notice that there are just eight figures in 
each answer. To get the speed, multiply the number of 
completed problems by eight, and add the odd figures 
in the last unfinished problem, if any. This will give 
you the total figures in all answers. Write the total in 
the blank space opposite "Speed." 

Then count up all the figures which you have marked 
with a cross as wrong, and enter the total in the blank 
space opposite "Errors." 

Step 10. We will mark the answers to the problems in 
multiplication in the same way. Place a small, heavy 
cross below each figure that is wrong. I will read the 
answers in rows from left to right. 

239134 262581 487815 121808 

157916 4859520 372824 1772541 

509960 402528 571824 129096 

Step 11. Notice that most of the problems have six 
figures in the answer. In the second row, the second 
[94 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

and fourth have seven figures each. Count up the com- 
pleted problems and multiply by six. Add one for either 
of the problems that has seven figures, and also add the 
odd figures in the last unfinished problem, if any. Write 
the total in the blank space opposite "Speed." Then 
count up the figures you have marked as wrong and write 
the total in the blank space opposite " Errors." 

RECHECKING 

Step 12. Exchange papers again. Be sure that you 
do not have your own paper. Write your name in the 
space opposite "Rechecked by." 

Step 13. If you find a figure in any answer that is 
right though it is marked with a cross as wrong, draw a 
circle around the cross. If you find a wrong figure that 
has not been marked, make a cross for it. Do not make 
any other marks on the paper ; especially do not make a 
second cross for any error already marked. 

(At this point read the answers again.) 

Step lJf,. Count up all figures right and wrong, in- 
cluding odd figures in the last unfinished problem, and 
see whether the total agrees with the total already entered 
in the space opposite speed. If it does not agree, count 
again very carefully. When you are sure, cross out the 
figure already entered and write in your own. Remember 
that wrong figures are to be counted as well as right. 
Then count up the errors and be sure your count agrees 
with the number entered opposite "Errors." (Repeat 
for "Subtraction" and "Multiplication.") 

Now have you failed to cross out the totals counted 
up by the first checker when your count did not agree? 
If so, be sure that only one set of counts for speed and 
errors remains not crossed out. Look first at Addition, 
then at Subtraction, and finally at Multiplication. Now 

[95] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

add up all the speeds and enter at the top under "Total 
Speed," then add all the errors and enter under "Total 
Errors." After you have done this once, do it again to 
be sure you have made no mistake. 

Step 15. (Let papers be returned to their owners, and 
continue reading.) Look over your own papers to make 
sure you have been given a fair marking. If you have 
done the whole work wrong, as adding where you should 
have subtracted, or have failed to copy the columns but 
added them up without copying, cross out the Speed and 
Errors and write "No grade" in the margin. Add again 
all speeds and all errors to see that totals are correct. 
As the teacher calls the roll, give your grades as "Addi- 
tion, — Speed, so much ; Errors, so many. Subtraction, 
— Speed, so much," etc. Always mention what you are 
giving before you give the numbers. 

(The teacher should have copied the names of the class 
on the tally sheets either before or during the test. Speed 
and errors should be entered in the columns headed 
" 1st," the other columns being reserved for a second 
test. Be sure the teacher writes her name, school, class, 
and date at the top of each and every sheet, second and 
third sheets as well as first. Collect and turn in all test 
papers. Do not let any test papers disappear.) 

KEY TO SECOND SERIES 

Answers in Addition : 

4367 4995 3600 5367 4974 4447 3863 6382 

Answers in Subtraction : 
30597674 17682440 83798590 20822767 

81258134 25431973 181393685 
31174591 13544757 752634471 87253805 

884900579 63234646 15885528 
[96] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Answers in Multiplication : 

212454 321054 553308 167670 93933 5724920 2321088 
708939 196350 507840 161912 486170 56758 562562 

5. Tests in Business Aeithmetic 

fractions 

Time allowed, 5 minutes. 

The best records will be made by those who have studied 
the aliquot parts method of multiplying fractional num- 
bers; but the following averages include the work of 
many who had no familiarity with short-cut methods, 
and the test may fairly be given to any one who is familiar 
with fractions. 

Averages (high-school graduates), — Speed (count of all 
figures in answers), 30; Errors (figures wrong), 7. Aver- 
age of five highest, — Speed, 65 ; Errors, 4^. 

First Series 

Write the answers to the following in dollars and cents 
(ciphers for no cents), counting fraction over half as a full 
cent and ignoring fractions less than a half cent : 





Items 


Cents 
Each 


Extension 




Items 


Cents 
Each 


Extension 


1 


103 


4i 




9 


70 


57^ 




2 


34 


5| 




10 


1866 


66f 




3 


6643 


6J 




11 


40 


37| 




4 


72 


8| 




12 


144 


87J 




5 


124 


m 




13 


112 


6| 




6 


99 


in 




14 


18 


62| 




7 


84 


14f 




15 


32 


18f 




8 


333 


33J 




16 


17 


42| 





[97] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Second Series 

Write the answers to the following in dollars and cents 
(ciphers for no cents), counting fraction over half as a full 
cent and ignoring fractions less than half a cent : 





Arti- 
cles 


Cents 


Extension 




Arti- 
cles 


Cents 


Extension 


1 


103 


@6{ 




9 


77 


@, 5l\ 




2 


7724 


@6t- 




10 


1533 


@66f 




3 


34 


@2§ 




11 


48 


@37| 




4 


84 


@8J 




12 


144 


@83| 




5 


11400 


® 12J 




13 


99 


@6f 




6 


81 


@ H 




14 


26 


@62J 




7 


77 


@ 14? 




15 


32 


@28f 




8 


666 


@33f 




16 


17 


@ 32J 





DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING TEST ON FRACTIONS 

Distribute the printed sheets. The addition tests from 
the previous series may be included with this for high 
school students, the three tests requiring 11 minutes and 
being capable of being taken and checked in a 40-minute 
period. 

Step 1, Write your name at the top of the sheet in 
the center, and in the next line at the left, the school, 
in the middle the class, and at the right, the date. At 
the left of the third line write "Checked by" and at the 
left of the fourth line, "Rechecked by." The work will 
start on the fifth or sixth line. 

Step 2, You will be allowed 5 minutes in which to 
write as many answers as you can. You ought to do 
most of these problems in your head and simply write 
down the answers following the problems under "Ex- 
tension." Do not copy the problems. Write only the 

[98] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

answers. If you have to do any figuring, do it at the 
bottom of the sheet. Observe that the answers are 
to be written in dollars and cents. That means it is 
very important to get the decimal point right. Write 
two ciphers for "no cents." When I give the word, 
start. 

Step 3. Exchange papers. Write your name in the 
space after "Checked by." 

Step i. As I read the answers, place a small, heavy 
cross under each figure that is wrong (not under the whole 
answer, but under each figure in the answer). If the 
decimal point is not in the right place, make one cross 
for that as if it were a figure. Dollar signs are not neces- 
sary, but not wrong if written. If two ciphers for "no 
cents" are omitted, you need not count those wrong, 
but they should be written if you follow the directions. 
(Read answers, — "Problem one, four, decimal, three, 
eight.") 

Answers to First Series 





Ans. 


Number Figs. 




Ans. 


Number Figs. 


1 


4.38 


(3) 


9 


40.00 


(4) 


2 


1.87 


(3) 


10 


1244.00 


(6) 


3 


415.19 


(5) 


11 


15.00 


(4) 


4 


6.00 


(3) 


12 


126.00 


(5) 


5 


15.50 


(4) 


13 


7.47 


(3) 


6 


11.00 


(4) 


14 


11.25 


(4) 


7 


12.00 


(4) 


15 


6.00 


(3) 


8 


111.00 


(5) 


16 


7.23 


(3) 



In one or two cases there may be a little variation on 
the last figure. If the decimal after two places for cents 
is 5 or more, we simply add one cent. If it is less than 
5 we drop it. 

[99] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Answers to Second Series 





Ans. 


Number Figs. 




Ans. 


Number Figs. 


1 


6.44 


(3) 


9 


44.00 


(4) 


2 


521.37 


(5) 


10 


1022.00 


(6) 


3 


.85 


(2) 


11 


18.00 


(4) 


4 


7.00 


(3) 


12 


120.00 


(5) 


5 


1425.00 


(6) 


13 


6.60 


(3) 


6 


.90 


(2) 


14 


16.25 


(4) 


7 


11.00 


• (4) 


15 


9.20 


(3) 


8 


222.00 


(5) 


16 


5.48 


(3) 



Step 5. Let us now write slightly to the right of each 
answer the number of figures that ought to be in the 
answer. I will read each problem and then the number 
of figures that ought to be in the answer, counting any 
omitted ciphers for "no cents" as if they were written. 
After doing this we can add up the number of figures in 
the answers of all problems done and get the speed. In 
the upper right-hand corner of your paper write, " Speed, " 
so many. Then count up the number of crosses you have 
for wrong figures, including wrong decimal points as if 
they were wrong figures, and below "Speed" write "Er- 
rors, " so many. Make your count very carefully. 

Step 6. Exchange papers again. Write your name in 
the space after "Rechecked by." 

Step 7. As I read the answers again, observe carefully 
whether every figure that is wrong has a cross under it, 
or if any figures that are right have crosses under them 
erroneously. Put a circle around each cross that is 
wrong, and mark with a cross any figure that is wrong 
but not already marked. Do not make a second cross 
for any wrong figure, nor any mark of any sort for figures 
that are right. 

[ ioo] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Step 8. Once more I will read the number of figures 
that should be in each answer. Be sure that the count 
has been written down correctly, counting two ciphers 
after decimal points for "no cents" even if not written. 
Then add up the figures in the problems that are actually 
done, including any partly finished problem. Be sure 
there are no crosses for missing figures in any last un- 
finished problem. It is not an error if there was not 
time to finish the problem. See that the total of all 
figures has been correctly written for "Speed" in the 
upper left-hand corner of the sheet, and see that the 
count of all crosses for "Errors" is correct. If your 
count does not agree with the first one, count again very 
carefully. When you are sure you are right, cross out 
the first figure and write your own. Do not leave two 
different lots of figures for the same record. Leave only 
the right count not crossed out. 

Step 9. Return papers to owners. Look over your 
paper and see if you think you have had a fair marking. 
If you are in doubt on any point, ask me to make the 
correction. Do not change anything on your paper 
yourself. I will make all changes that may be required. 
As I call the roll, answer, — "Speed, so many; Errors, 
so many." 

PERCENTAGE 

If the tests on percentage and fractions are to be given 
at the same time, have pupils perform the percentage 
problems immediately after the fractions, without wait- 
ing to correct the fractions, and then have them check 
both sets of answers one after the other. It is a waste of 
time to exchange papers twice. Also, if tests on simple 
addition, subtraction, etc., are given with the advanced 
tests, have all tests worked out at one time, then all cor- 
rected at one time, with only one exchange of papers. 

[ 101 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Time allowed, 2 minutes. 

Average of business employees, — 9 problems done, 1 
error. (High-school students failed to make a showing 
on this test.) 

First Series 

Deduct 5 per cent from each of the following, writing 
the percentage first, and then in another column write 
the answers after the numbers of the problems. The 
answers should be only as dollars and cents, more than 
half a cent being counted as a full cent. 





Per 

CENT 


Amount 




Per 

CENT 


Amount 


1 


$ 1.45 






7 


$145.00 






2 


.75 






8 


37.00 






3 


9.50 






9 


3.00 






4. 


.98 






10 


17.00 






5 


3.25 






11 


13.00 






6 


15.75 






12 


21.00 







Second Series 

Deduct 3 per cent from as many of the following as 
possible in 2 minutes, writing the answers as dollars and 
cents only. More than half a cent should be counted as 
a full cent. 





Per 

CENT 


Amount 




Per 

CENT 


Amount 


1 


$ 2.15 






7 


$345.00 






2 


10.50 






8 


9.00 






3 


.15 






9 


23.00 






4 


.89 






10 


11.00 






5 


4.25 






11 


27.00 






G 


45.25 






12 


12.00 







[ 102 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING PERCENTAGE TEST 

Step 1. Write your name at the top of the sheet in 
the center, and in the next line at the left, the school, 
in the middle, the class, and at the right, the date. At 
the left of the third line write "Checked by" and at the 
left of the fourth line, "Rechecked by." The work will 
start on the fifth or sixth line. 

Step 2. You will be allowed 2 minutes to do as many 
of these problems in percentage as possible. Observe 
that you are to deduct 5 per cent (second series 3 per 
cent) from as many as possible. You ought to perform 
these operations in your head. It will be convenient 
for you to write first the percentage in a column to the 
right, and finally the original sum with the percentage 
deducted, the answers required. The most important 
thing is getting the decimal point in the right place. In 
your final answers, omit all decimals after cents (two 
places), counting half a cent or more as one cent. 

Step 3. Exchange papers. Write your name in the 
space after "Checked by." 

Step 4,. As I read the answers, place a small, heavy 
cross under each problem that is wrong. Observe that 
in this test we count whole problems, not individual 
figures. If the decimal point is in the wrong place, it 
makes the entire problem wrong. If the last figure 
varies by no more than one from the answer as I give it, 
you may pass it over without marking an error. We 
pay no attention to the percentages written down in the 
first column, only to the final answer. 

Answers to First Series 

1. $1.38 4. $ .93 7. $137.75 10. $16.15 

2. .71 5. 3.09 8. 35.15 11. 12.35 

3. 9.03 6. 14.96 9. 2.85 12. 19.95 

[ 103 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Answers to Second Series 

* 

1. $ 2.09 4. $ .86 7. $334.65 10. $10.67 

2. 10.19 5. 4.12 8. 8.73 11. 26.19 

3. .15 6. 43.89 9. 22.31 12. 11.64 

Step 5. Let us now count up all the problems at- 
tempted, whether they are right or wrong, and write 
the total in the space given to percentage as "Speed," 
so much. Then count up the problems marked with a 
cross as wrong, and write "Errors," so many. 

Step 6. Exchange papers again. Write your name in 
the space after "Rechecked by." 

Step 7. As I read the answers again observe that we 
make only one cross for each problem, however many 
figures may be wrong. If the decimal point is in the 
wrong place, we make a cross for that problem as if a 
figure were wrong. But if the last figure is only one 
more or less than the answer given, do not mark the 
problem wrong. (Read the answers again.) 

Step 8. Count up all the problems attempted, right 
and wrong, and see that the "Speed" as already written 
is correct. Then count up the problems marked with a 
cross and see that the "Errors" are correctly entered. 
If your count does not agree with the first count, count 
again carefully. When you are sure you are right, cross 
out the wrong count of speed or errors and write in the 
correct figures. Do not leave two sets of figures, but 
be sure to cross out the wrong count. 

Step 9. Return papers to owners. Look over your 
paper and see if you think you have had a fair marking. 
If /you are in doubt on any point, ask me to make the cor- 
rection. Do not change anything on your paper yourself. 
I will make all changes that may be required. As I call 
the roll, answer, — "Speed, so many; Errors, so many." 

[ 104 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

DIRECTIONS FOR COMBINED TESTS IN BUSINESS ARITH- 
METIC (adding, fractions, percentage) 

While distributing the printed papers say, "Read over 
the directions at the heads of the tests, but do not touch 
pencil to paper till I give you the word." 

Step 1. Write your name, school, class, and date at the 
top. 

Step 2. We begin with Addition. Copy the first 
problem in the blank space below, starting well to the 
left-hand side of the paper, so that you will have room for 
all. Then add that column before copying another. 
Proceed to copy the next column, and add it, and so on. 
Don't skip any columns. 

You will be allowed 4 minutes to do as many as you 
can, but of course you are not expected to do all. Ac- 
curacy is the important thing. 

Don't put down a figure till I say "Start." 

(A watch with a second hand is required for these tests, 
and the timing must be accurate.) 

Step 3. Turn over the sheet. In the test on Multiply- 
ing Fractions you will see in the first column the number 
of the problem. Pay no attention to that. In the 
second column is given a number of items or articles, 
which are supposed each to cost the cents and fractions 
of a cent given in the third column under "cents each." 
Write the answers directly on the sheet in the column 
under "Extension." Most of these answers you should 
be able to write down at once with only a mental calcu- 
lation, using any short-cut method you can. If you need 
to write down any figures before you get the answer, 
you can do so in the space at the side of the sheet. 
Always write the answers as dollars and cents, being 
careful to place the decimal point where it belongs, and 

[ 105 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

if there are no cents, write two ciphers after the decimal 
point. Fractions of a cent, one half or more, may be 
counted as one cent. Disregard fractions less than half 
a cent. When I give the word, start. Time allowed is 
5 minutes, to do as many as you can accurately. 

Step U. Next we will do the test on Percentage. You 
are to deduct 5 % from as many of the amounts given as 
you can in the time allowed. You should perform these 
operations in your head, and you may write down the 
percentage first close to the problem, and then amount 
after the deduction, which is the correct answer. Write 
the answers as dollars and cents, counting a fraction of 
a cent, one half or over, as one cent, but disregarding 
fractions less than one half. Time allowed is 2 minutes, 
to do as many as you can accurately. 

(Check tests one after the other according to the direc- 
tions given above.) 

6. Tests in English 

These tests are based on the spelling, grammar, punc- 
tuation, and business usage required for good letter 
writing. The spelling, grammar, and punctuation apply 
equally to social letter writing and business letter writing. 

Each test can be given and corrected twice in a 40- 
minute period, but there will not be time to talk over 
the papers with the owners and tabulate the results in 
the same period. Another period will have to be taken 
for this, and there must be no waste of time if you would 
get the papers fully corrected in one period. It is sug- 
gested that the grammar and punctuation tests be given 
in one period (nominal time 33 minutes for both; with 
directions 40 minutes) ; that the papers be taken up, 
and then given out again for correction and grading in 
a second period; and that a third period be used for 

[ 106 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

allowing owners to review their papers, and for tabulating 
the results. 

If several pupils make 100 per cent on the elementary 
spelling test, the advanced test should also be given at 
the same time to give them a chance to receive full credit. 

The letter-writing tests will naturally not be given 
until pupils have had training in letter writing. After 
work on letter writing, the elementary test may be given 
seventh and eighth grade pupils, as well as to pupils 
of the first two years in the high school. The advanced 
test may be given to classes which make a higher showing 
on the elementary test, after training in answering letters. 
While ordinary high-school pupils without special training 
on answering letters have failed to make a showing at all 
on this test, eighth-grade pupils after training have done 
creditably. 

For a short English test completed in 10 minutes, we 
recommend the Elementary Punctuation (capital letters 
and commas as used in business), special directions for 
which will be found on page 131. 

A. TESTS IN SPELLING 

Words to be dictated, each word after being pronounced 
to be put into a phrase or sentence that will show its 
usual meaning in business. No fixed time is set, but the 
words should be dictated in seven or eight minutes, not 
to exceed ten minutes on the advanced test. 

There are fifty words in each test, and we deduct 2 per 
cent for each error when we come to make up the per- 
centages. On the tally sheets we list only the number of 
errors, however. 

National Averages for elementary test, — beginners in 
business, 5 errors, 90 per cent ; for high-school graduates, 
2J errors, 95 per cent. 

[ 107 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Advanced test, — business average (competent stenog- 
raphers), 7^ errors, 85 per cent; high-school graduates, 
12 errors, 76 per cent; good grammar-school graduates, 
17 errors, 66 per cent. 

One eighth-grade class after thirty half hours of class 
work averaged 90 per cent on the advanced test. 

First Series, Elementary 

Selected as the -fifty hardest words in Leonard Ayres* 
list of 542, constituting seven eighths of 23,000 words 
used in two thousand actual letters. 

1. Truly — Yours truly. 2. Sincerely — Yours sin- 
cerely. 3. Writing — You are writing these words. 
4. Written — The words are written. 5. Premium — 
You get a premium with a subscription. 6. January — 
The first month is January. 7. Association — The 
Association of Commerce. 8. Through — Through the 
room. 9. Too — Too many. 10. Necessary — Food is 
necessary for life. 11. Particular — That particular boy. 
12. Receipt — Sign a receipt for the money. 13. Pleas- 
ure — Playing gives pleasure. 14. Woman — The man 
and the woman. 15. Probably — It will probably rain. 
16. Reference — A reference book. 17. Referred — It 
was referred to the principal. 18. Terrible — A terrible 
storm. 19. Doesn't — It doesn't do to talk in class. 
20. Separate — Separate seats. 21. Experience — Ex- 
perience in business. 22. Arrange — Arrange your desk. 
23. Tuesday — Tuesday follows Monday. 24. Wednes- 
day — Then comes Wednesday. 25. Teacher — Every 
class has its teacher. 26. Business — Big business makes 
money. 27. Different — You and I are different. 
28. Believe — I believe you. 29. Busy — You are very 
busy. 30. Knowledge — We test your knowledge. 
31. Know — To know a thing. 32. Enough — Write 

[108] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

fast enough. 33. Appreciate — I appreciate your atten- 
tion. 34. Accept — To accept a present. 35. Whether 

— Whether or not. 36. Certain — This applies to cer- 
tain pupils. 37. Especially — It was especially warm. 
38. Building — The school building. 39. Heard — He 
heard a sound. 40. Impossible — It is impossible for 
me to go. 41. Salary — His salary was $20. 42. Office 

— A business office. 43. Reason — A good reason for 
doing it. 44. Convenient — This desk is convenient. 
45. Measure — A foot rule is a measure. 46. Volume 

— This book is a volume. 47. Instead — She went in- 
stead of her sister. 48. Always — Always smile. 
49. All right — His lesson is all right. 

Second Series, Elementary 

Selected as parallel to preceding in being commonly 
used and equally difficult. Number the words before dic- 
tation. 



again 


holiday 


satchel 


vegetable 


although 


island 


similar 


volume 


beautiful 


knock 


soldier 


weight (of a 


brief 


listen 


whether 


load) 


carried 


necessity 


succeed 


wholly 


chief 


ninth 


suitable 


sincerely 


comb 


Wednesday 


sirup 


written 


decimal 


owner 


whether (or 


too much 


didn't 


pencil 


not) 


all right 


always 


possible 


taught 


business 


ninety 


question 


thumb 


appreciate 


enough 


really 


toward 


salary 


finally 


rough 


usually 


until 



[ 109] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

First Series, Advanced 

Words that must often be written by stenographers, 
which they find difficult to spell. 

1. Abbreviate. 2. Accessible — Easy to reach. 
3. Accommodate. 4. Achievement. 5. Acknowledg- 
ment. 6. Advantageous. 7. Advertise. 8. Advice 

— To give advice. 9. Advise — Advise what to do. 
10. Affect — That does not affect it. 11. Alignment. 
12. Alley — A back street. 13. Almanac. 14. Already 

— The room is already full. 15. One analysis. 16. Two 
analyses. 17. Anniversary. 18. Anxiety. 19. Ap- 
preciation. 20. Arrangement. 21. Ascent — Going 
up. 22. Assent — To agree. 23. Assessment — Of 
taxes. 24. Attachment. 25. Attorneys — At law. 
26. Ballot — We ballot at election. 27. Bankruptcy. 
28. Bargain — A bargain sale. 29. Base — The bottom. 
30. Bass — Men sing bass. 31. Bazaar (or bazar). 
32. Belief — That is my belief. 33. Beneficiary. 
34. Berth — In a Pullman. 35. Birth — Your birthday. 
36. Bicycle. 37. Biscuit. 38. Breath — Hold your 
breath. 39. Breathe — Breathe deep. 40. Brief — 
Short. 41. Build — Build a house. 42. Calendar — 
Of days. 43. Calendered — Paper (rolled smooth). 
44. Campaign — An election campaign. 45. Cancelling 
(or canceling). 46. Canvas — Cloth. 47. Canvass — - 
To canvass for a book. 48. Capital — The capital of 
the state, capital letter. 49. Capitol — The Capitol 
building at Washington. 50. Cashier — in an office. 

Second Series, Advanced 
Number the words before dictation, 
abridgment cord (string) initial sirloin 

ancient serial (story) invisible supersede 

[no] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 



anecdote 


cereal (food) 


mantelpiece 


transient 


occurred 


conceit 


mosquitoes 


underwear 


authorize 


consign 


pamphlet 


hardware 


bouquet 


credentials 


perceive 


relief 


bureau 


deficient 


precede 


poison 


arc (lamp) 


discuss 


proceed 


principal 


celebrate 


dyeing 


scientific 


(chief) 


champagne 


(cloth) 


receipt (for 


professional 


(wine) 


extravagant 


money) 


marshal (of 


chauffeur 


financier 


sanitary 


troops) 


column 


hosiery 


serviceable 


villain 


chocolate 


indefinite 


journeys 





DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING SPELLING TESTS 

(Distribute to the pupils single sheets of ruled theme 
paper. Then read the following directions without 
explanations :) 

Step 1. Write your name at the top of the sheet on 
the first line ; on the second line write the school at the 
left, class in the middle, and date at the right; on 
the third line, at the left, write " Checked by"; on the 
fourth line write "Rechecked by." Then number the 
lines down the page so as to give places for 50 words. 
Make two or three columns on the page. 

Step 2. I will pronounce the word and then give a 
phrase or sentence to show its meaning. You will write 
only the word. If you skip or miss a word, leave the 
corresponding line blank, and at the end you can ask 
me what word that number is and I will give you another 
chance to write it. (Dictate words.) 

Step 3. Exchange papers. Write your name after 
" Checked by." 

Step 4. As I spell the words place a small, heavy cross 
after each word that is wrong. (Show on the board how 

f HI ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

to make a small, heavy cross.) Do not make any mark 
whatever after words that are right. If you do not catch 
the spelling, raise your hand and let me give it again. 
(Spell words slowly from list — phrases not needed. 
After "All right" say "two words.") 

Step 5. Exchange papers again, being sure you do not 
get your own paper or the paper you marked before. 
Write your name after "Rechecked by." 

Step 6. As I spell the words place a small, heavy 
cross after all words that are not already marked. 
Do not make a second cross where there is one already. 
If any word is marked with a cross which is spelled 
correctly, circle the cross. If you cannot read a word 
or make out the spelling, let me see it. (Spell words 
again.) 

Step 7. If any word is omitted, place a cross for it. 
Now count up all the words which are wrong and are 
marked with a cross, of course omitting those which 
you have circled as incorrectly marked. Write the num- 
ber in the upper right-hand corner of the sheet. 

Step 8. Now count again carefully, and see if the 
count agrees with the first count. If it does not, count 
a third time. When you are sure you have the count 
right, cross out thoroughly the wrong number and write 
in the correct one. 

Step 9. Return papers to owners, who will see that 
their papers are fairly marked. Any persons in doubt 
can ask me. I will give you a few minutes to do this. 

Step 10. As I call the roll give me the number of 
errors on your paper. 

B. TESTS IN GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION 

Printed papers are required for these tests. They 
must be given very carefully or results will not be re- 

[ 112 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

liable. Unless directions are followed very exactly, 
errors are sure to occur. 

Results may be compared with averages obtained by 
testing actual business employees in various well-known 
business houses, including the National Cash Register 
Co., Burroughs Adding Machine Co., National Cloak & 
Suit Co., Filene's (Boston), Marshall Field & Co., Com- 
monwealth Edison Co., Swift & Co., and Sears, Roebuck 
& Co. These averages are as follows : 



Averages 


Elem. 
Gram. 


Adv. 
Gram. 


Elem. 

PUNCTU. 


Full 
Puncttt. 


Beginners (gram. sch. grads.) 
High school graduates . . 
Experienced employees . . 


72.5% 
81 


77 

85 


65% 
78 


60% 

74 
74 



[113] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

These tests are intended to be given in normal time. 
Two or three minutes additional may be allowed to 
those who do not finish with the rest. 



Pupil's Name 

School Class. 

Checked by 

Rechecked by 



. Date . 



First Series 



ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR TEST 

(Time, 5 minutes) 

Correct the following with pencil on this sheet. Divide 
Par. 1 into sentences, inserting periods and capital letters. 
Cross out wrong forms if choice of two or more is given : 

1. Once upon a time there was a little chimney-sweep. his 
name was Tom that is a short name you have heard it before 
you will not have much trouble in remembering it. 

2. I have (went — gone) to town. 

He has (wrote — written) a letter to his mother. 

He has (drunk — drank) all the water. 

He (did — done) the job yesterday. 

I am going with you, (ain't — aren't — what ?) I ? 

3. I (saw — have seen) him before I saw you. 

I (haven't heard — didn't hear) from him yet. 

He (has spoken — spoke) to me already. 

He (did — has done) the work yesterday. 

He (has not spoken — didn't speak) to me so far. 

4. It is (me — I). 

It is (they — them). 
It is (she — her). 

5. Between you and (me — I). 

(Whom — who) will the paper be read by ? 

Total Errors 

[ 114 ] 






TWO SERIES OF TESTS 



ADVANCED GRAMMAR TEST (Time, 10 minutes) 



Correct the following with pencil on this sheet, crossing out 
the wrong form when two are given : 

1. Every one of those men (has his — have their) pickax. 
Each point (is — are) as clear as a star. 

The woman or the tiger (come — comes) out. 
Montgomery Ward & Co. (have — has) settled the strike. 
The Montgomery Ward Company (have — has) settled 
the strike. 

2. The ship has (sank — sunk). 

The bird has (broke — broken) its wing. 

3. He has (laid — lain) it down. 

When he came in he (set — sat) down. 

I saw that the book (lay — laid) on the table. 

At eight o'clock I (laid — lay) down. 

At eight o'clock I (set — sat) down. 

4. The doctor said that fever (produces — produced) thirst. 
It had happened before I (saw — had seen) him. 

From what I saw of him he appeared (to be — to have 

been) a man of letters. 
I wish Anna (was — were) here. 
If Anna (was — were) here, she would nurse him. 
If Anna (was — were) there, she was the life of the 

company. 
While sitting on my doorstep, a beautiful butterfly 

caught my eye. — While sitting on my doorstep, I 

caught sight of a beautiful butterfly. 
By doing so you will clear up the matter. — By doing 

so the matter will be cleared up. 
On weighing the sugar a shortage was found. — On 

weighing the sugar he found a shortage. 

7. I saw (him — his) doing it. 

I approve (him — his) doing it. 

What do you think of (me — my) going to town ? 

8. I was frightened at (that examination's length — the 

length of that examination). 
For (goodness' — goodness 's — goodness) sake. 
He spoke of (the land's fertility — the fertility of the land). 

9. I do not like (those — that) sort of people. 
I belong to (that — those) kind myself. 

10. He feels (bad — badly) about it. 
It looks (good — well) to me. 
The general stood (firm — firmly). 

Total Errors 



5. 



6. 



[ 115 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



PUNCTUATION TEST 



(Total time, 18 minutes) 
Elementary — 10 minutes 

1. Draw a short line under each letter that should be a 
capital, marking directly on this sheet: 

John askam, esq., was awarded the degree of 11. d. at the 
last commencement of dartmouth college. He is a profes- 
sional bacteriologist in the service of the state of massa- 
chusetts, i. e., he is employed by the state board of health, 
in his appointments president wilson favored the east rather 
than the west, he wrote for the national educator. 

2. Insert commas where needed: 

In the course of time when you have grown older and wiser 
you will find men and women who will appreciate your hard 
work you will get your reward and the satisfaction of having 
done your best will be a compensation in itself. 

In the first place if I know anything about John Higgins 
it is morally certain that he was not the thief. However I 
should not advise you to do it for I fully believe you will lose 
money if you do. 

Will you kindly let us know by return mail just when you 
expect to ship our order No. 4568 a No. 46 sideboard to be sent 
direct to our customer James Oakley Pocahontas Mont. Our 
customer wishes to get this sideboard at the earliest possible 
moment and we have promised to hurry it as much as possible. 

Total Errors 
Advanced — 8 minutes 

3. Insert apostrophes, commas, colons, and semicolons 
where needed in the following : 

Please send the following as soon as possible 1 doz. ladies 
white linen handkerchiefs the best value you have at about 
15c each 6 cakes of glycerine soap 15c a cake 6 for 50c a box 
of ladies cream note paper and envelopes rough finish unruled 
about 25c or any special value you have of this grade. 

Remember I cant teach you how to run your business I 
cant show you how to get dollars from letters dropped in a 
rat-hole but I do know what human nature is and perhaps 
you dont and I do know how to line up words so as to make 
people send you business so far as words will do it. 

Errors in Adv. Test 



Full Punctuation, add Elem. and Adv. 



[ 116] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Second Series 

ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR 

(Time, 5 minutes) 

Work directly on this sheet. Divide Paragraph 1 into 
sentences, inserting periods and capital letters. Cross 
out wrong forms if choice of two or more is given : 

1. He is a tall boy he is going into business with his 
father in school he led his class he played first base on 
the baseball team that fact made him popular. 

2. I have (sang — sung) that song before. 
Has he (spoke — spoken) to her yet? 

Had the horse (swum — swam) the river before ? 
The boy (done — did) as he was told. 
He likes me, (don't — doesn't) he ? 

3. Nobody can spell as well as (her — she). 

To whom should it be given, you or (I — me) ? 
Does she stand better in her class than (I — me) ? 
Does she stand in her class ahead of you and (me — 

D? 

4. Write answers to the following questions, using one 
of the pronouns he, him, she, her, I, me : Who is it? 
To whom shall I give this ? Will any one lend me a knife ? 

5. Every one is doing (their — his) work. Either 
John or May or Henry or George (is — are) selected. 

ADVANCED GRAMMAR 

(Time, 10 minutes) 

1. (Have you heard — did you hear) from him today ? 
I (didn't get — haven't got) your answer yet. Before 
you had arrived I (got — had got) the work attended to. 
Since yesterday three carloads (arrived — have arrived). 
Already fifty men (have been — were) put to work. 

[ H7 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

2. The river has (overflowed — overflown) its banks. 
The dress has not (wore — worn) well. 

3. Let you and I go — let's you and me go — let you 
and me go. (Cross out wrong forms.) 

4. Is it John in the 7th or Helen in the 8th who stands 
at the head of (his — her — their) class ? Every one in 
the office is working as if (his life — their lives) depended 
on it. All those in the office are working as if (their 
lives — his life) depended on it. 

5. We like (he — him) (who — whom) the people 
have honored. Between the pair of us, you and (me — 
I), you would think one would have got it right. (Who 

— whom) would you imagine it to be ? 

6. None of the boys (is — are) elected captain yet. 
Early to bed and early to rise (seems — seem) to be the 
rule of this house. The Standard Oil Company (has — 
have) issued a statement. Marshall Brown & Co. (have 

— has) issued a statement. 

7. I was puzzled to know what to think of (John — 
John's) marrying her. He has made a careful study of 
the (building's progress — progress of the building). 
Ten day's work — ten days' work — ten days work. (Cross 
out wrong forms.) 

8. He tied the rope and by (this — these) means saved 
the load. If the scissors (cut — cuts) (it is — they are) 
worth the money. He has been here (this two hours — 
these two hours). 

9. He was the (richer - — richest) of the (two — three) 

— Two forms. Correct if necessary : Can't you make 
your story more complete? Do you think my work 
more or less perfect than John's ? 

10. The milk tastes (sour — sourly). The man's 
breath smells (bad — badly). The car certainly rides 
(easy — easily). 

[ 118 1 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 
PUNCTUATION 

(Total time, 18 minutes) 
Elementary — 10 minutes 

1. Draw a line under each letter that should be a 
capital, marking directly on this sheet : 

The oriental steamship company, a pacific coast cor- 
poration and one of our leading western business houses, 
has applied to the interstate commerce commission and 
the California state public utilities commission for a special 
through rate from chicago to honolulu. James Dawson, 
president of the company, makes affidavit that oriental 
business would greatly increase, e.g., on cotton goods in 
competition with british trade. 

2. Insert commas where needed : We acknowledge re- 
ceipt of your remittance of $14 which has been placed to 
your credit and in accordance with your request we are 
shipping ten gallons additional. 

Unless we hear from you to the contrary we shall ship 
the balance the middle of May mailing you invoice the 
day of shipment. 

Ten gallons of boiled oil and ten gallons of turpentine 
fifty pounds of white lead and ten pounds of zinc white 
ought just about to meet your needs. 

Ship to James Schermerhorn 15 Peoria St. Ottawa 
Illinois 1 #54 cabinet in mahogany with brass handles 
dull finish. 

Advanced — 8 minutes 

3. Insert marks of all kinds in the following as needed : 
Come now my friend you cant deceive me. Our boys 

outfits are just as good as yours and with that he hung 
up the receiver. 

We manufacture all kinds of paper writing paper dull 

[ 119 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

and gloss finish in note letter and folio sizes book papers 
both machine finish and supercalendered also wrapping 
paper in heavy and light weights specializing on fiber 
stock. 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING GRAMMAR AND 
PUNCTUATION TESTS 

(Read these directions to the class, waiting after each 
step for pupils to do as requested. Repeat as often as 
necessary for clear understanding, but do not answer 
questions otherwise.) 

Step 1. Write your name, school, class, and date at 
the top of the sheet. Do not begin the test till I give 
the word to start. 

Step 2. You are allowed 15 minutes for both the 
Elementary and Advanced Grammar Tests. Do both 
without stopping. 

The first paragraph of the Elementary Test is to be 
divided into sentences by inserting periods and capital 
letters where necessary. Do not make any changes in 
the wording. 

Where two forms are given in parenthesis, draw a line 
through the one that is wrong, so that the sentence will 
read correctly with the portion that is left. (On the 
board, show pupils how to draw a line through a wrong 
word, else they will not mark the papers uniformly.) 

If you know both forms in parenthesis are wrong, you 
may write the correct form in the margin ; but otherwise 
do not mark anything outside the parentheses. 

(For first series only.) In Paragraph 6 of the advanced 
test you will find three pairs of sentences, one in each 
pair being wrong and one right. Draw a line through 
each wrong sentence. Turn over the paper to finish the 
test. (Pause 15 minutes, allowing full measure of time.) 

[ 120 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Step 3. We have 18 minutes, if necessary, for the en- 
tire punctuation test, elementary and advanced. Do 
both parts without stopping. 

Draw a short line under each letter to be capitalized 
(not under the whole word) in the first paragraph. Do 
nothing else in that paragraph. 

Insert necessary commas in the second paragraph. Do 
nothing else there. 

Insert necessary punctuation marks of all kinds in the 
last paragraph. (Pause for 15 or 18 minutes, if neces- 
sary. If questions about the tests are asked, re-read the 
directions with any emphasis that will make them clearer, 
or reply, "You will have to use your best judgment. I 
cannot answer questions.") 

Step 4. (If the period is exhausted, papers may be 
taken up and the corrections made at the next period. 
Papers may then be given out to any pupil except the 
owner.) 

Has any person his own paper? If so, exchange with 
some one. 

Write your name at the top of the sheet after " Checked 
by." 

Step 5. In the blank column at the right, at the top 
of which you see a cross, make a small, heavy cross like 
the printed one for each error you find. Place this cross 
just opposite the mistake. Do not check in any way 
sentences that are right, or make any other marks on 
the paper. I will read the correct form. The form I 
do not read should be crossed out. (In reading, place 
special emphasis on the right word in parenthesis.) 

Observe that in Paragraph 1 there are four places 
where sentence divisions should be made by inserting 
periods and capital letters. The period and capital 
letter both count as one error and should never be marked 

[ 121 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

with two crosses. If both are omitted, or either is wrong, 
make one cross in the margin. There can be only four 
eirrors in this paragraph. If any sentence is not marked, 
count it an error. 



KEY TO ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR TEST, FIRST SERIES 

1. Once upon a time there was a little chimney-sweep 
(period; "His" begins with a capital letter). His name 
was Tom (period; "That" begins with a capital letter). 
That is a short name (period; "You" begins with a 
capital letter). You have heard it before (period; 
"You" begins with a capital letter). You will not 
have much trouble in remembering it. 

2. I have gone to town. He has written a letter to 
his mother. He has drunk all the water. He did the 
job yesterday. I am going with you, am I not? or, am 
I? (Both forms in parenthesis are wrong.) 

3. I saw him before I saw you. I haven't heard from 
him yet. He has spoken to me already. He did the 
work yesterday. He has not spoken to me so far. 

4. It is /. It is they. It is she. 

5. Between you and me. Whom will the paper be 
read by? 

Step 6. Count up all the mistakes you have marked, 
and write the total in the blank space opposite "Total 
Errors." Write the number to the left-hand side of 
the space so the person who rechecks will have room 
to write his number, if his count does not agree with 
yours. 

Step 7. Now mark the Advanced Grammar Test in 
the same way, placing a small, heavy cross opposite each 
error. If any sentence is not marked, count the omission 
an error. 

[ 122 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

KEY TO ADVANCED GRAMMAR TEST, FIRST SERIES 

1. Every one of those men has his pickax. Each point 
is as clear as a star. The woman or the tiger comes out. 
Montgomery Ward & Co. have settled the strike. The 
Montgomery Ward Company has settled the strike. 

2. The ship has sunk. The bird has broken its wing. 

3. He has laid it down. When he came in he sat 
down. I saw that the book lay on the table. At eight 
o'clock I lay down. At eight o'clock I sat down. 

4. The doctor said that fever produces thirst. It had 
happened before I saw him. From what I saw of him 
he appeared to be sl man of letters. 

5. I wish Anna were here. If Anna were here, she 
would nurse him. If Anna was there, she was the life 
of the company. 

6. While sitting on my doorstep, I caught sight of a 
beautiful butterfly. (The second sentence is right.) By 
so doing you will clear up the matter. (The first sentence 
is right.) On weighing the sugar he found a shortage. 
(The second sentence is right.) 

7. I saw him doing it. I approve his doing it. What 
do you think of my going to town ? 

8. I was frightened at the length of that examination. 
For goodness 9 sake. (The first form, with apostrophe 
after the s, as a special idiom.) He spoke of the fertility 
of the land. 

9. I do not like that sort of people. I belong to that 
kind myself. 

10. He feels bad about it. It looks good to me. The 
general stood firm. 

Count up the errors in the advanced test and write the 
total on the left-hand side of the blank space after "Total 
Errors." 

[ 123 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Step 8. Now mark the punctuation test in the same 
way, by placing a small, heavy cross in the blank column 
at the right for each error you find. Do not make any 
other marks on the paper. 

Particularly note this : If you find any capital letters 
or commas or other punctuation marks which I do not 
read, mark each one of them with a cross as an error. 
Anything that might be one way or another I will tell 
you about as we go along. If a line has been drawn 
under the whole word to be capitalized, do not count 
that a mistake. 

KEY TO PUNCTUATION, FIRST SERIES 

1. John (capital) Askam (capital), Esq. (capital) was 
awarded the degree of LL.D. (all three letters capitals, 
but if this is not marked at all count it only one mistake) 
at the last commencement of Dartmouth (capital) College 
(capital) . He is a professional bacteriologist in the service 
of the State (capital) of Massachusetts (capital), i.e. he is 
employed by the State (capital) Board (capital) of Health 
(capital). In (capital) his appointments President (capi- 
tal) Wilson (capital) favored the East (capital) rather 
than the West (capital). He (capital) wrote for the 
National (capital) Educator (capital). 

(Be sure to check any word marked which I did not read.) 

2. In the course of time (comma), when you have 
grown older and wiser (comma), you will find men and 
women who will appreciate your hard work (comma), 
you will get your reward (comma optional, there is no 
mistake whether it is inserted or not inserted), and the 
satisfaction of having done your best will be a compensa- 
tion in itself. 

(If you find any commas I have not read, be sure to 
mark them.) 
[ 124 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

In the first place (comma), if I know anything about 
John Higgins (comma), it is morally certain that he was 
not the thief. However (comma), I should not advise 
you to do it (comma), for I ful y believe you will lose 
money if you do. 

(Be sure to mark any commas I did not read.) 

Will you kindly let us know by return mail ("by return 
mail" may have a comma before and after, or may not 
have any commas at all, but if there is a comma only 
before or only after, mark it as an error) just when you 
expect to ship our order (comma optional — right either 
way) No. 4568 (comma must be inserted), a No. 46 side- 
board (comma optional) to be sent direct to our customer 
(comma optional) James Oakley (comma required), 
Pocahontas (comma required), Montana. Our customer 
wishes to get this sideboard at the earliest possible moment 
(comma), and we have promised to hurry it as much as 
possible. 

(Remember to mark as an error any comma which I 
have not read.) 

Count up all the mistakes in the elementary test and 
write the total at the left-hand side of the space opposite 
"Total Errors." If there are many errors it will help 
you to count up the errors in each paragraph separately. 
Write the number at the right-hand side of the blank 
column ; then add these together. 

Step 9. Now mark the advanced test in the same way. 

3. Please send the following as soon as possible (colon) : 
1 doz. ladies' (apostrophe after the s) white linen hand- 
kerchiefs (comma), the best value you have at about 
15 j£ each (semicolon) ; 6 cakes of glycerine soap (comma), 
15 fi a cake (comma), 6 for 50^ (semicolon) ; a box of 
ladies' (apostrophe after the s) cream note paper and 
envelopes (comma), rough finish (comma), unruled 

[ 125] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

(comma), about 25j£ (comma optional) or any special 
value you have of this grade. 

(If a hyphen has been placed between "note" and 
"paper," do not count it an error.) 

(Any punctuation marks I have not read should be 
marked as errors.) 

Remember (comma), I can't (apostrophe between the 
n and the t) teach you how to run your business (comma 
or semicolon), I can't (apostrophe between the n and the 
t) show you how to get dollars from letters dropped in 
a rat-hole (semicolon required) ; but I do know what 
human nature is and perhaps you don't (apostrophe 
between the n and the t; followed by comma), and I do 
know how to line up words so as to make people send you 
business (comma), so far as words will do it. 

(Be sure to mark as an error any punctuation mark I 
have not read.) 

Now count up the errors in the advanced test and write 
the number at the left of the space after "Errors in Ad- 
vanced Test." When you have done that, add the 
errors in the Elementary and Advanced Punctuation 
Tests and write the total in the space just below, opposite 
"Full Punctuation, add Elem. and Adv." 

RECHECKING 

Have pupils exchange papers again. (Let the teacher 
be particular to see that any paper marked by a dull 
pupil is marked the second time by a bright pupil.) 
Read directions as follows : 

Step 10. Exchange papers, but be sure you do not 
get your own paper, nor the one you have just marked. 

Write your name in the space opposite "Rechecked by." 

As I read the key again, draw a circle around any cross 
placed opposite a sentence that is correct. If any in- 

[ 126 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

correct sentence has been overlooked, make a cross for 
it at the right-hand side of the blank column. Do not 
make any other marks on the paper, especially do not 
make a second cross for any point that has already been 
marked. 

(Read the key just as for the first checking.) 

Step 11. Now count up the errors again. If your 
count does not correspond with the first count, go care- 
fully over the marks a second time to see where the 
difference is. When you are sure you are right, cross 
out the first count, which was wrong. Do not leave any 
figure except the right total. If test was not finished, 
write "not finished" below the grade, and write in the 
correct total. 

(When all four tests have been rechecked, have the 
papers returned to the owners so that they can see whether 
they have had a fair marking or not. Ask them to look 
their papers over and call your attention to anything 
that does not seem right to them. 

(The teacher should have written the names of the 
class on the blank tabulating sheets before or during the 
test, and be ready to call the roll. Count of errors should 
be entered in the column "1st Test" or "Opening." In 
the case of punctuation, enter the count of the elementary 
test, and then in the column headed "Full Punc." enter 
the total errors in both elementary and advanced tests. 
It is not necessary to list the errors in the advanced 
punctuation test separately. This does not apply at all 
to the grammar tests. 

(Be sure that the teacher writes her name, school, and 
class at the top of each tabulating sheet; second and 
third sheets as well as the first. 

(Read the key at a natural, moderate rate, clearly 
articulating, neither too fast nor too slow. Checking 

[ 127 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

and rechecking should be completed in a 40-minute 
period, but if the class is slow and asks many questions, 
it will take longer. Tabulating and talking over the tests 
will require a second period.) 

KEY TO ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR, SECOND SERIES 

1. He is a tall boy (period ; "He" begins with a capital 
letter). He is going into business with his father (period ; 
"In" begins with a capital letter). In school he led his 
class (period; "He" begins with a capital letter). He 
played first base on the baseball team (period; "That" 
begins with a capital letter). That fact made him 
popular. 

2. I have sung that song before. 

Had the horse swum the river before ? 
The boy did as he was told. 
He likes me, doesn't he ? 

3. Nobody can spell as well as she. 

To whom should it be given, you or me ? 

Does she stand better in her class than I ? 

Does she stand in her class ahead of you and me ? 

4. Who is it ? (Answer either) 7, he, or she. To whom 
shall I give this ? (Answer either) me, him, or her. Will 
any one lend me a knife? (Answer either) 7, he, she. 
(If any one of the three is written in the test, it would be 
counted correct.) 

5. Every one is doing his work. Either John or May 
or Henry or George is selected. 

KEY TO ADVANCED GRAMMAR, SECOND SERIES 

1. Have you heard from him today? I haven't got 
your answer yet. Before you had arrived, I had got the 
work attended to. Since yesterday three carloads have 
arrived. Already fifteen men have been put to work. 

[ 128 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

2. The river has overflowed its banks. The dress has 
worn well. 

3. Let you and me go (the first two forms should be 
crossed out). 

4. Is it John in the 7th or Helen in the 8th who stands 
at the head of his class ? Every one in the office is work- 
ing as if his life depended on it. All those in the office 
are working as if their lives depended on it. 

5. We like him whom the people have honored. Be- 
tween the pair of us, you and me, you would think one 
would have got it right. Whom do you imagine it to be ? 

6. None of the boys is elected captain yet. Early to 
bed and early to rise seems to be the rule of this house. 
The Standard Oil Company has issued a statement. 
Marshall Brown & Co. have issued a statement. 

7. I was puzzled to know what to think of John's 
marrying her. He has made a careful study of the progress 
of the building. Ten days' (apostrophe after the s) work. 

8. He tied the rope and by this means saved the load. 
If the scissors cut, they are worth the money. He has 
been here these two hours. 

9. He was the richer of the two, or the richest of the three. 
(Count either one of those right.) Can't you make your 
story more nearly complete? Do you think my work 
more or less nearly perfect than John's? (Nearly must 
be inserted in each.) 

10. The milk tastes sour. The man's breath smells 
bad. The car certainly rides easy. 

KEY TO PUNCTUATION, SECOND SERIES 

Elementary 

1. The Oriental (capital) Steamship (capital) Company 
(capital), a Pacific (capital) Coast (capital) corporation 

[ 129 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

and one of our leading Western (capital) business houses, 
has applied to the Interstate (capital) Commerce (capital) 
Commission (capital) and the California (capital) State 
(capital) Public (capital) Utilities (capital) Commission 
(capital) for a special through rate from Chicago (capital) 
to Honolulu (capital). James Dawson, president of the 
company, makes affidavit that Oriental (capital) business 
would greatly increase, e.g. on cotton goods in competition 
with British (capital) trade. 

2. We acknowledge receipt of your remittance of $14 
(comma), which has been placed to your credit (comma), 
and in accordance with your request we are shipping ten 
gallons additional. 

Unless we hear from you to the contrary (comma), we 
shall ship the balance the middle of May (comma), mail- 
ing you invoice the day of shipment. 

Ten gallons of boiled oil and ten gallons of turpentine 
(comma), fifty pounds of white lead and ten pounds of 
zinc white (comma optional) ought just about to meet 
your needs. | 

Ship to James Schermerhorn (comma), 15 Peoria St. 
(comma), Ottawa (comma), Illinois (comma), 1 #54 
cabinet in mahogany (comma), with brass handles 
(comma), dull finish. 

(Commas before and after "in accordance with your re- 
quest" might be justified and need not be marked wrong, 
but a comma only before or after should be marked wrong.) 

Mark with a cross any additional commas which you 

find that I have not read. I will pause a moment while 

you look through the paragraph to see if there are any 

such. 

Advanced 

3. (Quotation marks) "Come (comma), now (comma), 
my friend (comma), you can't (apostrophe between the 

[ 130 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

n and the t) deceive me. Our boys' (apostrophe after 
the s) outfits are just as good as yours (comma, quotation 
marks, dash)," — and with that he hung up the receiver. 
We manufacture all kinds of paper (dash) — writing 
paper (comma), dull and gloss finish (comma), in note 
(comma), letter (comma optional), and folio sizes (semi- 
colon) ; book papers (comma), both machine finish and 
supercalendered (semicolon) ; also wrapping paper in 
heavy and light weights (comma), specializing on fiber 
stock. 

Mark with a cross as errors any additional punctuation 
marks which you find. 

(In grading the elementary test alone, deduct 3| per 
cent for every error of any kind. For "Full Punctuation 
Test" (elementary and advanced combined into one), 
add together the total errors in the Elementary and the 
Advanced, and deduct 2 per cent for each error in the 
combined total. The "Advanced" is not listed alone, 
but only in combination with the elementary as the 
"Full Test." 

(The Elementary and Advanced Grammar tests, on the 
other hand, are always graded separately, as two distinct 
tests. For every error in the Elementary Grammar test, 
deduct 5 per cent, and for every error in the Advanced 
Grammar test, deduct 3 per cent.) 

DIRECTIONS FOR TEST ON ELEMENTARY PUNCTUATION 

(When given by itself) 

(Distribute test papers to class. 

(Read these directions to the class word for word, wait- 
ing after each step for pupils to do as requested. Repeat 
as often as necessary for clear understanding, but do not 
answer questions otherwise.) 

[ 131 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Step 1. Write your name, school, class, and date at 
the top of the sheet. Do not begin the test till I give the 
word to start. 

Step 2. You are allowed 10 minutes for inserting the 
necessary capital letters and commas in this test. 

Draw a short line under each letter to be capitalized 
(not under the whole word) in the first paragraph. Do 
nothing else in that paragraph. 

Insert necessary commas in the second paragraph. Do 
nothing else there. (With watch in hand, allow full 
10 minutes if required for marking this test.) 

Step 3. Exchange papers. Write your name at the 
top of the sheet after "Checked by." 

Step ]+. You see a blank column at the right with a 
X at the top of it. As I read the key to this test, make 
a small, heavy cross in that blank column opposite each 
error you find. Do not check in any way what is right, 
or make any other marks on the paper. 

Particularly note this : If you find any capital letters 
underscored, or commas or other punctuation marks 
which I do not read, mark each one with a cross as an 
error; also mark as an error the omission of any of 
the marks I read. If a line has been drawn under the 
whole word to be capitalized, do not count that a mistake. 
(Read Key to Elementary Test as given above.) 

Count up all the mistakes in the elementary test and 
write the total at the left-hand side of the space opposite 
"Total Errors." If there are many errors, it will help you 
to count up the errors in each paragraph separately and 
write the numbers at the right-hand side of the blank 
column ; then add these together. 

Step 5. Exchange papers again. Write your name 
after "Rechecked by" at the top of the sheet. (Teacher 
should see that particularly dull pupils exchange this 

[ 132 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

time with bright pupils. Go about the room and make 
this exchange arbitrarily without explanation.) 

Step 6. As I read the key again, draw a circle around 
any cross opposite a line that is correct, but if any error 
has not been marked, make a cross for it. Do not make 
any other marks on the paper ; especially do not make a 
second cross for any point that has already been marked. 
(Read the key just as for the first checking.) 

Step 7. Now count up the errors again. If your 
count does not correspond to the first count, go carefully 
over the crosses again, of course omitting any that you 
have circled as being wrong, and when you are quite sure 
you are right, mark out the first total and write in the cor- 
rect total as you find it. Be sure not to leave two totals 
so that it will be impossible to tell which is the right one. 

Step 8. Return all papers to owners. 

Step 9. Look over your paper and see if you find any- 
thing that seems to you unfair marking. If you find 
anything, do not make any change yourself but call it 
to my attention and I will make whatever change is re- 
quired. Now, as I call the roll, give me the number of 
errors as you find it at the bottom of your test paper. 

7. Elementary Test in Letter Writing 

This test may be written on the board. It can be 
given to seventh and eighth grade classes after training, 
or to any higher classes. 

Half an hour may be allowed for writing this letter. 
Elementary pupils may be allowed to compose the letter 
on one sheet and then copy, using 15 minutes' additional 
time. 

Averages of beginners in business houses (grammar 
school graduates), 7 errors to a 100- word letter; gradu- 
ates of commercial departments of high schools, 5 errors ; 

l 133 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

experienced stenographers, 2 errors. With school classes it 
is difficult to be sure of having got a complete checking 
of errors, unless papers are gone over by a rigid, in- 
dependent critic. Faithful checking by class members 
will, however, give sufficiently close results for school 
purposes. Classes trained for five weeks or more on use 
of this system of self-criticism will get very reliable 
results. 

Write the test on a blackboard if test papers cannot be 
supplied. 

First Series 

Write a letter of application for any actual position you 
believe you can fill acceptably, about 100 words, fully 
describing your (1) education, (2) experience (including 
amateur undertakings), and (3) ambitions. Special 
attention should be paid to the neatness and form of 
the letter, spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing, as 
well as to the choice of words and smoothness of expres- 
sion. State (4) age, (5) sex, (6) color, (7) physical strength, 
and (8) appearance. 

Second Series 

Write a letter of about 100 words for a position you can 
really fill. Address the letter to a business firm you 
know, where you might expect to get a position. The 
letter should be in neat handwriting, with correct margins 
and arrangement, properly punctuated and grammatically 
correct, and expressed in natural, forceful language, State 
in tabular form : (1) age and sex, (2) education, (3) ex- 
perience (business or amateur), (4) nationality of parents, 
(5) health, (6) pay wanted, and (7) ambitions for the 
future. 



[ 134 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING TEST ON LETTER 
WRITING 

(Distribute paper of fujl letter size, 8^ by 11 inches, 
ruled but without any vertical red line on it, and also 
pens and ink. A test of this kind must always be written 
in ink, on one side of the paper only.) 

Step 1. Write at the extreme top of your sheet of 
paper, for reference only and not as part of the letter, 
your name, school, class, and date, all on one line. On 
the next space that might be called a line write "Checked 
by" at the extreme left-hand side. On the third space 
that might be called a line, at the extreme left, write 
"Rechecked by." 

Step 2. Now, ignoring what you have written at 
the top, you are to write this letter of about 100 
words (the exact count is not important), placing it 
properly on the sheet, giving your own home address 
and the present date. Address the letter to an actual 
business house or person you know, giving the correct 
address. Make your answers apply truthfully to your- 
self as you are now, not to an imaginary person such as 
you may be later. I cannot answer any questions to 
help you compose your letter. You must use your own 
best judgment, without wasting time. You will be 
allowed half an hour to write this letter. 

(If there is not time to check the letters in the same 
period, they may be collected and given out at a future 
period for checking. If the checking is not finished in one 
period, the papers may be taken up a second time and 
later given out again to the persons who were previously 
at work upon them. Correction of letters by this method 
through the pupils is slow, but it furnishes very valuable 
instruction. Unless done thoroughly, it has little value.) 

[ 135 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 






Step 3. See that you do not have your own letter. 
Write your name in the space after "Checked by." 

Step h. First of all we will see if the eight facts called 
for in this letter have been covered. I will write them 
on the board three at a time and give you a brief explana- 
tion of what you ought to find stated in the letter you 
have before you. 

You know what education is. Any reference to the 
class in school in which a person actually is will cover 
that. 

" Experience " means anything outside of class work 
which might fit for this job. It might be work at home 
nights or Saturdays, or it might be such things in school 
as managing a ball team, editing a school paper, or doing 
any of those things that are not class work. These 
latter would be called "amateur undertakings." Setting 
up a wireless station would be an amateur undertaking. 

"Ambitions" refer to anything that the person wants 
to do beyond the immediate thing he applies for. For 
example, if you want a job so that you can earn money to 
go to school next fall, that is an ambition. Or you may 
wish to go to school so as to become a teacher or any- 
thing like that in the future. You do not have an ambi- 
tion to get this job. 

Now look through the letter before you carefully, and 
wherever you find anything about "education," write in 
the left-hand margin a figure "1 "; where you find any- 
thing about "experience," write a figure "2"; where 
you find anything about "ambitions," write a figure "3." 
The order does not matter. 

Step 5. The fourth fact to cover is age ; the fifth, sex 
(whether boy or girl) ; and the sixth, color. 

If application has been made for a position as office boy 
or the like, that shows it is a boy. Merely signing a girl's 
1 [ 136 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

name or a boy's name is not sufficient, There must be 
something in the letter that distinctly shows that the per- 
son who wrote the letter noticed No. 5 and tried to cover it. 

" Color" may be covered either by saying one is white 
or negro, or giving the complexion as light or dark, blond 
or brunette. 

Where you find each of these facts covered, write the 
corresponding number in the left-hand margin, regardless 
of order. 

Step 6. No. 7 is " physical strength," which refers to 
health, or general ability to do the job and keep at it 
day after day. A boy who plays football may be as- 
sumed to be strong, etc. 

No. 8, "appearance," may be covered by saying one is 
tall or short, heavy or small, or by giving height or weight, 
or anything like that. 

Mark the numbers for these in the same way. 

Steps 4 to 6 for Second Series 

Step ^. First of all we will see if the eight facts called 
for in this letter have been covered. I will write them 
on the board three at a time and give you a brief explana- 
tion of what you should look for. 

The first fact is not numbered. It says, "State in 
tabular form," that is, in a column, as a table, one fact 
under the other, with or without numbers. That makes 
it much easier to check. Since we have seven numbers, 
we will call this "8." Write "8" in the margin near the 
top if the items are arranged in tabular form. 

Now put down in the left-hand marginal space the 
number of each item you find covered. 

Item No. 1 is age and sex, that is, whether boy or girl. 
If either is missing, you cannot put down a figure "1." 

No. 2 is education. Anything about school work 

[ 137] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

which shows in what grade the person is will cover this. 
If the amount of schooling is not shown in any way, the 
point is not covered. 

No. 3 refers to anything that has been done outside of 
class work, whether as work at home, nights, or Satur- 
days or during vacations, or such things in school as 
managing a ball team, editing a paper, or the like. Setting 
up a wireless station would be called an "amateur under- 
taking." 

Step 5. The next three points, (4) nationality of 
parents, (5) health, and (6) pay wanted, I think are clear 
and do not need further explanation. Write the corre- 
sponding figure in the left-hand margin wherever you find 
the points covered. 

Step 6. The only point that remains is "ambitions," 
No. 7. This refers to anything that the person wants 
to do in the future. One is not ambitious to get this 
immediate job, but one may want to get it so as to earn 
money to come back to school next fall, and that would 
be "ambition." Or one may wish to become a teacher, 
or a professional man, an engineer, or a business man, etc. 

The Following Steps Apply to Both Series 

Step 7. Now let us check up two more facts. Is the 
address given by the writer at the top of the letter suffi- 
ciently complete so that a letter sent to the person at 
that address could be delivered ? In a city there would 
have to be a street and street number, a building, or the 
like, but in a small town only the town and state would 
be required. If this address is sufficient, write in the 
left-hand margin a figure "9." 

Step 8. A third fact that should be covered is whether 
the position wanted is clearly stated. Many boys and 
girls apply for positions without stating what the posi- 

[ 138 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

tions are so that business men may know what they are 
applying for. If the position wanted is clearly stated, 
make a figure "10" in the left-hand margin opposite the 
beginning of the letter. 

Step 9. Now we will count up all the facts covered in 
the letter to see if there are ten in all. If this count 
shows that any are omitted, write below "Rechecked by" 
in the upper left-hand corner "Om." for "Omissions," 
followed by the number of points not covered. If there 
are no omissions, write "Om. 0." 

Step 10. We will now take up the correctness of the 
letter one point at a time. Do not look ahead, but keep 
your mind fixed on the point we are talking about until 
all of us have finished that point. Then we will go on, 
all together, to the next point. 

Form of the Letter. Make a small, heavy cross in the 
margin at either end of the line for any error in that line. 

Margins. Is the left-hand margin not less in width 
than one joint of the finger or more than two joints — 
three quarters of an inch to an inch and a half, and fairly 
straight? Is the right-hand margin not less than a 
quarter of an inch, so that not more than three lines on 
a page come near touching the edge of the paper ? (These 
margins are for handwritten letters on letter-size paper. 
Modify them for note size, or typewritten letters, which 
require larger margins.) Is the letter crowded too high 
on the sheet, or is it placed too low ? Are the paragraphs 
indented half an inch to one inch and a quarter ? 

Date line. Are a street name and a street number re- 
quired ? Do they come first, with a comma only at the 
end of the item? Is St., Ave., or Boul. capitalized and 
followed by a period if abbreviated ? Is there no period 
after 16th or the like ? Is Sixteenth capitalized if spelled 
out? 

[ 139 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Do the city and state come next, with comma between 
them, and with a comma after the period for the abbrevia- 
tion of the state, if it is abbreviated? Make a cross for 
any item omitted or out of order. 

Does the date come last, as April 25, 1917, with comma 
after 25 and period after 1917, but no comma after 
April ? 

Is the whole heading of the letter well balanced, and 
placed to the right-hand side of the page ? 

Name and address. Is the name of the person to whom 
the letter is written just flush with the margin? Is it 
followed by a comma? Is the address on the next line 
indented as a paragraph (exception for typewritten letters, 
where address may be flush with margin), followed by a 
comma, periods after all abbreviations, St., etc., capital- 
ized ? Does the third line have a double indention ? Is 
there a comma after the city and a period after the state 
even if it is spelled out in full (no other punctuation) ? 

Salutation. Is the salutation flush with the margin? 
Followed by a colon? (never a comma or semicolon). 
Sir beginning with a capital letter ? Dear Sir for a man, 
Dear Madam (never Madame) for a woman, Gentlemen 
(never Dear Sirs) for a firm or institution, Ladies for a 
firm of women? Does the body of the letter start as a 
paragraph, on a new line (not farther to right than other 
paragraphs, an old-fashioned style) ? 

Complimentary close. Does it start at least a third of 
the way across the page, and not more than two thirds 
of the way, on a separate line? Does it begin with a 
capital letter, and is it followed by a comma (no word 
capitalized except the first) ? Is there any apostrophe 
about "Yours"? Is it formal, such as "Yours truly," 
"Respectfully yours," when the opening is formal, or 
an informal close like "Sincerely yours," used only in 

[ 140 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

letters of a friendly and personal nature? Does the 
name come on a line below, starting a little to the right 
of the beginning of the complimentary close? (It may 
or may not be followed by a period.) If a woman's name 
is preceded by Miss or Mrs., is the title in parenthesis? 

Step 11. Wording of the letter. Let us now examine 
the choice of words and phrases to see if they are all 
natural and correct. It is an example of poor wording 
to say "I am of the age of 13 years" (two o/'s), "I have 
had some experiences" (plural instead of the singular 
experience), "I seen your add in the paper" (a bad error 
of grammar like I seen, or add with double d instead of 
ad. as an abbreviation or short form for advertisement). 
Let pupils raise their hands and ask about any wording 
on which they are doubtful till all have marked the word- 
ing to their satisfaction. Write w in the margin for each 
example of poor wording. 

Step 12. Spelling. Let us read the letter carefully 
through again to see if the spelling of any word is doubt- 
ful. If so, the pupil must be sure to ask. 

Step 13. Punctuation. Let us now look the letter 
through especially for punctuation. Write p in the 
margin for each example of wrong punctuation. 

Are any sentences run together with only a comma 
between ? 

Are there any compound sentences with and, or, or 
but which should have a comma before the conjunction? 
Are there any compound predicates, the subject not ex- 
pressed before the second verb, where there is a comma 
before and or or that should not be there ? 

Are there any subordinate clauses which should be set 
off by commas ? 

Are there any subordinate clauses set off by commas 
which should not be so set off, because they are short 

[ 141 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

and closely connected with the main clause in meaning, 
or are essential to the meaning ? 

Are there any words thrown in which should be set off 
by commas ? 

Are there any commas anywhere that are not needed ? 

Are there any words, phrases, or clauses in series which 
should be separated by commas, including a comma before 
the and or or connecting the last two items of the series ? 

Are there any addresses in the letter, of which the items 
of street and street number, town, and state should be 
separated by commas ? 

Are there any proper nouns or proper adjectives like 
English, American, or the like, which are not capitalized ? 
Are there any common nouns capitalized that ought not 
to be capitalized ? 

Let pupils look carefully for each one of these items of 
punctuation, one item at a time, and ask if in doubt. 

Step IJf. Record. Write at the top the number of 
errors under each head, — Facts Omitted, Form of the 
Letter, Wording, Spelling, Punctuation, and then add 
all together for Total Errors. When tabulating for a 
class make a list in two columns, — Facts Omitted and 
Total Errors (which includes Facts Omitted). 

8. Test on Answering Letters (Advanced) 

For this test printed catalogue pages are required. 
The same catalogue pages are required for both tests 

The catalogue pages may be handed out the day before 
the test is given, so that those to be tested may familiarize 
themselves with them. Time allowed for the test itself, 
30 minutes. 

This test should be handled easily by any one familiar 
with business practice, even if not a trained correspondent. 

Nine facts need to be stated in the three letters. Busi- 

[ 142 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

ness employees tested covered on the average 5 of these 
and were rated "Fair — 3^-" (on scale of 5). The tact 
with which the facts are presented to the customer has 
to be judged personally, and was considered by the author 
in the case of the business employees tested to be "Fair 

— 3^" (on a scale of 5). The form and correctness of 
language, spelling, grammar, punctuation, wording, etc., 
may be marked under the system outlined for the ele- 
mentary test. For advanced students and business 
employees a standard near perfection and a different 
basis of grading may be employed. Not more than one 
minor error in each letter would give a score of "Excellent 

— 5." One or two serious errors such as common words 
misspelled, or five or six minor errors that would not pre- 
vent the letter from passing a business house, would give 
a score of "Good — 4," the actual average of the business 
employees of all kinds who were tested. The five highest 
employees tested averaged "Excellent — 5" on all three 
classes of points. Letters written by high-school students 
were good only in form, no measurable record being made 
on stating facts or presenting them with tact and judgment. 

First Series 

Answer the following letters, referring freely to the 
catalogue pages supplied, in which all necessary facts 
will be found stated. Use judgment in making additional 
suggestions, and present the facts in a tactful, human 
style, such as a business man would expect. Use current 
date, and address of New York store found in catalogue. 
Parcel-post charge to 8th zone is 12$ a pound, 4th zone, 
15j£ for 3 pounds. 

1. Under No. FF10P you describe white-metal safety 
pins. I do not exactly understand what you mean. Is 

[ 143 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

it 2 for 10j£, 3 for 12j£, or what ? This seems a very high 
price. I want common safety pins. 

Will you let me know how many different sizes of safety 
pins there are in FF15P, and are they all mixed together ? 
Hilda Maxwell, Waterbury, Conn. 

2. I should like to order one of your khaki cloth 
skirts, price $2, weight 36 oz. Would you send it free 
delivery? If not, what would I have to add to cover 
the parcel post on it? 

Helen Zimmerman, Lima, Ohio, 

4th zone from New York. 

3. I wish to make up an order of notions from page 3 
of your catalogue, but as the weights of a good many 
things are not given, I do not know whether I can make 
up such an order so as to get free delivery. My order 
would include FF 2, 4, 8, 13, 17, 18, 22, and 23 P. Would 
you send these free delivery? 

Marion K. Drake, Ogden, Utah, 

8th zone from New York. 



Second Series 

Referring to four pages of Wanamaker's catalogue 
furnished in a separate folder, dig out the necessary 
business facts (nine) and reply to the letters, (1) covering 
the facts clearly, (2) explaining with tact and patience, 
and (3) with correct form and expression. 30 minutes. 

1. I have a girl of 10 and a boy of 14 for whom I should 
like to get gloves, something in good leather that will wear 
well. Could you recommend 131W8, what sizes would be 
required, and would you send free delivery ? 

(Mrs.) J. D. Evans, Frankford, Pike Co., Mo. 

[ 144 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

2. Your catalogue speaks of 131 W6 and 131 W7 white 
kid gloves as being 16-button length and 12-button length. 
Don't they actually have 16 and 12 buttons ? And how 
can I judge as to about the difference in length of these 
gloves ? Are 131W1 the same gloves in black ? 

Helen Baker, Ilion, N. Y. 

3. Would you send white kid belt TT13W free delivery ? 
I see it weighs only 4 oz. packed. Or if I ordered two 
belts would you send them free delivery ? 

Janice Meredith, Reno, Nev. 

DIRECTIONS FOR CORRECTING AND GRADING TEST ON 
ANSWERING LETTERS 

The outline for the elementary test on page 135 may 
be followed, but this test requires the exercise of intel- 
ligence under free conditions. 

The following nine facts may be checked up as the 
eight facts were in the elementary test, a figure being 
placed in the left-hand margin for each fact covered, re- 
gardless of order. 

Facts, First Series 
Letter 1. 

1. Numbers indicate sizes. 

2. Picture shows card with a dozen pins on it. 

3. Picture shows FF15P safety pins assorted in com- 
partments of a box. 

Letter 2. 

4. Limit of weight for $2 value to 4th zone is 32 ounces 
and skirt cannot be sent free. 

5. Amount of parcel postage should be stated in letter, 
or if not known, it should be indicated by a blank to be 
filled after looking up — 15j£. 

[ 145 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

6. Suggestion should be made that the order be in- 
creased to $3 without excessive weight, so that free 
delivery can be secured. 

Letter 3. 

7. The items given cannot be sent free delivery. 

8. The parcel postage charges on them will be 48j£ to 
8th zone, weight about four pounds. 

9. Call attention to Note 5, which states that when 
weights are not given they are assumed to be under 4 
ounces. 

The facts found to be omitted when the count up is 
made may be recorded in the upper left-hand corner of 
the first letter sheet as so many "Facts Omitted." If it 
is desired to give a uniform scoring in addition to a simple 
count of the number, we may call omission of no more 
than one of the nine facts, "Excellent — 5," omission 
of no more than 2, "Good — 4£," omission of no more 
than three, "Good — 4," omission of no more than four, 
"Fair — 3^.," omission of no more than five, "Fair — 3," 
omission of six, "Poor — 2," omission of seven, "Failure 
— 1." 

Model Letters for Comparison, First Series 

Answer to Letter 1. (To be given proper form as in 
model, Letter 3.) 

The white metal safety pins numbered FF10 are a 
specialty of ours to meet the needs of those who want a 
safety pin that positively will not rust. The prices are 
for a card of 12 (see picture), and the numbers in light- 
faced type indicate the sizes of the pins. These pins are 
extra strong and have a guarded coil. You will find it 
difficult to get such pins elsewhere at any price. 

For a cheap pin we commend to your attention FF15P, 

[ 146 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

a box with 144 pins of assorted sizes in compartments 
(see picture) at 50j£. 

Answer to Letter 2. 

You inquire if we could send a $2 khaki cloth skirt, 
weighing 36 ounces, to Lima, free delivery. 

As Lima is in the 4th zone, the limit of weight for free 
delivery on a $2 value is two pounds, or 32 ounces, just 
a little less than the weight of the skirt. 

Couldn't you include an order for something else weigh- 
ing not over 12 ounces and valued at $1 or over ? Then 
you would be entitled to free delivery on a $3 order 
weighing 3 pounds. Or just add 15j£ postage on the 
skirt alone. 

Answer to Letter 3. 

3<B*eaduu*y t 4il J*&*, 9/A <*nct tOtA, &ti 

gPAJ^/JU* AT OH i 



*4 dim, ^u&J^tg^** 



October 11, 19X9. 



Marion K. Drake, 

Ogden, Utah, 

Dear Ha dam: 

When the weight of an article Is not given la oar 
catalogue, as stated In Rote 5 on the back Inside cover page, 
the weight is less than four ounces. The total weight of the 
Items you mention would approximate 60 oz., or just under four 
pounds. As Ogden is in the' eighth zone, the rate would be 12^ 
a pound, or 48^ in all. The total amount of the order not be- 
ing sufficient to entitle you to free delivery at such a dis- 
tance, you should just add the 48f postage to the amount of the 
order, and on receipt we will send the articles very promptly. 

Ve sincerely hops we may have the pleasure of serving 
you. 

Very truly yours, 

JOSH WANAMA2EB. 

[ 147 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

Judgment as to the success with which the facts have 
been explained to the customer, the salesmanship or 
human presentation element, will have to be formed 
largely by comparison with the preceding model or key 
letters. Several letters may be read in the class and 
their merits discussed. Then the corresponding key 
letter may be read, and the comparison further discussed. 
A mechanical rating on this point is impossible, and we 
must depend on the best individual judgment expressed 
as "Excellent — 5" (scale of 5), "Good — 4f and 
"Good — 4," "Fair — 8*" and "Fair — 3," "Poor- 
ly" and "Poor — 2," and "Failure — I." 

The form of the letter may be checked up on the de- 
tailed outline supplied for the elementary test, but a 
distinction should be made between slips of the pen or 
typewriter which would be passed over by a business 
house, and errors of such a serious character that they 
would require rewriting before the letter could be sent 
out. One minor, trifling error in each letter would not 
stand in the way of a rating of "Excellent — 5"; two 
minor, trifling errors in each letter would not prevent a 
rating of "Good — 4^" ; four or five minor errors in 
all, and one serious error that would require correction, 
would justify "Good — 4"; any error that would re- 
quire entirely rewriting a letter, one or two common 
words misspelled, one word or phrase incorrectly used, 
or general lack of balance in margins, indentions, para- 
graphing, etc., five or six errors of punctuation, or one 
or two of these errors united, would justify only "Fair 
— 3" ; and if not one of the letters could be sent out by 
a first-class business house without some important 
corrections, form would be rated "Poor — 2"; or if 
all three letters required complete rewriting, "Failure — 
1." Observe that the count of errors above is to be 

[ 148 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

applied to the three letters taken together, not to each 
letter separately. 

A thoroughly satisfactory rating on this test could be 
given only by an experienced correspondent, whose name 
should be attached to his ratings. Any style or form 
commonly used in business should always be recognized, 
regardless of the preference of the grader, whose attitude 
should be as nearly as possible impersonal. There will 
be distinct value in rating these letters under the three 
heads separately instead of on one score in which all 
three considerations would have to be mixed without 
distinction or valuation of each element. 

Observe that these letters are supposed to be written 
by persons not immediately familiar with this business, 
and errors might be expected and tolerated which would 
not be made by a correspondent who had been connected 
with that business for two or three weeks and was familiar 
with the system. At the same time all these points were 
covered on tests perfectly by skilled correspondents en- 
gaged in entirely different lines of business, though the 
test was severe enough so that very few of the corre- 
spondents got all points right, some overlooking one 
point, and others another point. No point seemed to 
be so obscure as to puzzle an undue number. 



Facts, Second Series 

First Letter : 

1. Gloves 131 W8 are silk and not suited to the boy. 

2. Call attention to 131W9 as leather gloves. 

3. The girl would require size 5 or size 6 ; boy might 
wear size 7 if his hand were small, or take smallest size of 
men's gloves. 

[ 149 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

4. Add 4j£ for postage in case of 50j£ gloves, $1 gloves 
go free. 



Second Letter : 

5. Picture shows 3 actual buttons, length same as old 
style of gloves that had 12 and 16 buttons. 

6. Judge length of gloves by comparing hand portion 
with arm in picture; or 12-button comes below elbow, 
16-button above elbow. 

7. Catalogue says gloves 131W1 are silk, not kid ; but 
you may or may not assume that black kid could be 
furnished at same price though not listed. 

Third Letter : 

8. As belt TT13W is only 50j£ it could not be sent free 
delivery, as on second page of catalogue it is stated that no 
free delivery will be made on goods costing less than $1. 

9. Two belts would amount to $1, but would weigh 
8 oz. and come under the pound rates. The table shows 
$3 is required in the 8th zone. Add 4j£ postage on each 
belt, 8^5 for two. 

Model Letters for Comparison, Second Series 

1. We have received your inquiry concerning gloves 
for a girl of 10 and a boy of 14. The gloves 131W8 would 
be suitable for the little girl, who would require size 5 or 
size 6 according as you judge her hands larger or smaller 
than the average child of that age. In the note you see 
size 4 suits age 8 and size 7 age 13, so you would select 
one of the sizes between these. You speak, however, as 

[ 150] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

if you thought these gloves were leather. You will see 
by reading the description carefully that they are silk. 
If you wish leather gloves we would recommend 131W9 
or 10, price $1 a pair. We do not list any leather gloves 
for less than $1. 

While 131W9 would be suitable for the boy if you 
thought he could wear the largest size we carry, you 
might have to take the smallest size of men's gloves such 
as 131W11. When weights are not given they may be 
assumed to be less than 4 ounces, as stated in Note 5 on 
the second page of the catalogue. As we do not send 
any goods free delivery priced less than $1, you should 
add 4j£ for postage if you order a pair of 131W8 ; but any. 
of the other numbers would be sent postpaid. 

2. In reply to your inquiry concerning 131W6 and 7 
white kid gloves, we beg to call your attention to the 
pictures just at the left. The gloves actually have three 
buttons, but are as long as the old gloves that had 16 
and 12 buttons. You can judge the length by comparing 
the upper portion with the hands in the pictures. The 
shorter gloves are intended to come just below the elbow, 
and the longer gloves just above. Gloves 131W1 are 
silk gloves, not kid. We do not list long black kid 
gloves, but can furnish them at the same price as the 
white. 

3. We have received your letter asking if we would 
send belt TT13W free delivery. As the price of this is 
only 50j£ you would have to add 4j£ for postage, as we do 
not send any goods free delivery valued at less than $1. 
Two belts would amount to $1, but as the weight would 
be 8 ounces, free delivery would be figured on the basis 
of one pound, which in the 8th zone calls for $3 value, 
as you may see by the table on the second page of the 
catalogue. 

[151 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

We shall be very glad to serve you promptly if you 
favor us with an order. 



9. Stenographic Tests 

The following letters may be used both for tests on 
transcribing shorthand notes, and for copying on the 
typewriter. Copies accurately transcribed may be used 
for copying tests by other classes. 

These letters represent standard letter-writing material. 

For test on transcribing, dictate either letter, not in- 
cluding name and address, in 3 minutes (100 words a 
minute) and ask pupils to transcribe as much as possible 
in 5 minutes. 

Instead of counting actual words, we count "stroke- 
words" of four letters and one space, or five strokes to a 
word, including punctuation and everything except para- 
graph indentions and broken ends of paragraphs. 

Averages for working stenographers are, — Experienced 
stenographers, 40 words a minute, 2| errors to each 100 
words; high-school graduates, 30 words a minute, 5 
errors to each 100 words. 

Copying records should be 5 words a minute higher. 

If persons tested can transcribe or copy this letter in 
less than five minutes, they should continue by recopying 
from the beginning. 

Date, address lines, and salutation are not timed or 
counted, but are used as preparatory practice, to see that 
the typewriter is in good order, but the complimentary 
close and signature are to be written in the time measure- 
ment. 



[ 152 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

STANDARD BUSINESS LETTER, FIRST SERIES 

Kansas City* Ho., Jan. 3, 1919. 

Mr. Martin Pi she r, 

Shogun, Rans. 

Dear Sir: 

We suspect from your letter of January 10 that you do not 

have our regular winter catalogue, and take pleasure in sending you 

a copy under separate cover. Probably the catalogue to which you 

refer is our special catalogue of Winchester rifles in which no shot- 

5Q ■ 

gui)8 are described. If you will look on pages 95-96 of the catalogue 

*SS * • "60 • • • >f,S 

we are sending you, you will find a number of shotguns described and 

•?<>••• ' •rs ' 
quoted. Some are priced very' low indeed, yet we fully,. guarantee 
•to • • • • 'is 90 

everything we sell, and you may be sure that you will find nothing 

'95 • * • */cv .... ,jqs 

better of its kind on the market. 

We do not handle furs not made up into garments. For the 
•//5 • • • • . »/J0 • 
skins we would refer you to- Back, Becker & Co., 107 West Michigan St., 
•/2S U30 135 • 

Chicago. If you ask them for "scraps," and tell them exactly what us© 
'i*o .... , i¥S .... , /50 . 

your wife wishes to make of them, possibly you can get small pieces 

•J55 ■ • • • V60 • . f , /63 

at a low price which will serve as well as expensive whole skins. 

•170 175 ' 

We hope you will look our catalogue through carefully at mgk 
•/to • • . • '/is .... .170 

your leisure, for we know you will find many splendid bargains. We 

v?5 • • • • 'Zoo • . 

carry only new and high-class stock, and permit our customers .to re- 

•205 • -aio' • ..2/5 *. 

turn, at our expense, any article they do not find exactly as reprer 

•220 • • . -225 23* 

seated. If at aay time you get aoy goods that do not please you, 

you can return them and we will refund your money, less freight or 
•-24*5 250 ' • • • -2.55 • 

express charges. We are always pleased to answer questions, and will 
do everything in our power to aid you. 

•2 75 * • • ■ • 

Trusting we may have the pleasure of hearing from you again 

very shortly, we remain 

' • *J?5 • 

Yours truly, 



KANSAS CITY SUPPLY HOUSE. 
•3oo • • '303 



153 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

STANDARD BUSINESS LETTER, SECOND SERIES 

17 East 12th St., Chicago, 111., 
Dec. 30, 1919. 
James Anderson, 

Baker, 111. 
Dear Sir : 

We thank you for your order and shall hope to please 
you in every way in filling it. You will remember, how- 
ever, that it is stated in our catalogue that at least half 
the price of a made-to-order garment must be paid in 
advance. We ask this not only of you but of every one, 
for you can readily understand that this is the only 
protection we have. While ready-made garments may 
always be returned and money will be refunded, we 
cannot take back made-to-order garments or exchange 
them. 

We guarantee, however, that we will give you a perfect 
fit, and that you will find the workmanship and style 
unexceptionable in every way. If the dress is not made 
precisely as you order it, your money will be refunded 
promptly. You will see, therefore, that you, too, are 
fully protected. 

The special fur cape to match the fur on the dress we 
are unable to supply ; but you can get it from Montrose J. 
Hanny, 563 West Eleventh St., New York City, as he 
supplies us with the fur we use for the trimming, and also 
makes garments. 

We suggest that you send us the entire price of the 
dress in advance to save trouble for both of us. If you 
wish, however, you may send half, and the other half will 
be collected when the goods are delivered. 

As soon as we hear from you we will begin work at once, 
and if you are in Chicago you can call and have the dress 

[ 154 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

fitted in our workrooms. We certainly hope we may- 
please you. 

Yours truly, 

JONES & CO. 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING THE TRANSCRIPTION 

TEST 

A little preparatory practice in reading this letter 
aloud will enable the dictator to adopt a rate of speed 
that will cover the letter very closely in three minutes, 
or at any rate which it may be desired to adopt for pur- 
poses of testing speed in shorthand. 

In dictating, read in such a way as to indicate the 
punctuation marks, but do not dictate them. Each 
paragraph, however, should be indicated by saying 
"Paragraph." The names need not be spelled out if 
they are enunciated very clearly and slowly. 

The following directions for transcribing or copying 
may be read to the class without further explanations : 

Step 1. Take your places at the machines and put in 
a plain sheet of typewriter paper 8^ inches wide and 13 
inches long. (This length will permit the entire letter 
to be put on the page double-spaced without change of 
paper, whereas the 11-inch paper may require change if 
the entire letter is written.) 

Set the typewriter for double-spaced lines, and place 
the stops at full width, 1 and 70. 

At the extreme top of the sheet write your name, school, 
class, and date. On the next line (single-space) at the left 
write "Checked by." In the middle of the same line 
write "Rechecked by." 

Now write the current date, and the name, address, and 
salutation, without timing, by way of getting your fingers 
to working. When you have finished that, set the 

[ 155 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

machine at the usual paragraph indention of about 8 
spaces and wait, ready to begin on the speed test when I 
say " Start." 

Step 2. Are you now ready to start? You are 
expected to put in the paragraphs as dictated, and all 
required punctuation marks, but in cases where usage 
varies on punctuation you will be given the benefit of the 
doubt. 

Should you finish before I give the word to stop, just 
start writing over again the first line of the body of the 
letter, and continue through the letter a second time. 

As every error takes 5 off your net speed (International 
rules now deduct 10 for each error), you will attain your 
greatest speed by making no mistakes at all, rather than 
by hurrying. 

Start. (A watch with a second hand must be held in 
the hand, and the timing must be accurate to the second. 
A clock will not serve for the test. At the end of five 
minutes exactly, say in a loud, distinct voice, "All stop.") 

CHECKING THE PAPERS 

Step 3. ' (It is desirable that printed test papers be 
distributed to the class, so that pupils can see the correct 
form as well as receive it through the ear.) Exchange 
papers, and take your places at desks where you can write 
with a pencil or pen and ink. Write your name in the 
space after "Checked by." 

Step 4- As I read, place a small, heavy cross directly be- 
low every letter, punctuation mark, or space that is wrong. 
If words are x-ed out, place a cross below each word. 
If a word or paragraph is omitted, make a caret where it 
should go and write in the word or paragraph sign. If a 
word is misspelled or the wrong word is written, place a 
heavy circle around it. If you find other punctuation 

[ 156 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

marks than those which I read, call my attention to them 
by raising your hand, and I will tell you whether to mark 
them as errors or not. (Omission of all but absolutely 
indispensable commas may be permitted, and so may 
the insertion of commas in what is commonly called 
''close punctuation," provided commas inserted do not 
interfere with the meaning. Any wrong punctuation of 
sentence endings, or commas that interfere with the 
meaning, should be marked as errors. 

(Read slowly, spell out every word that might be mis- 
spelled, and read every capital letter, period, comma, etc., 
as you come to it.) 

Step 5. Exchange papers again. Write your name 
in the space after "Rechecked by." 

j Step 6. As I read again the letter which was dictated, 
see that a small, heavy cross is placed just below every 
letter, every punctuation mark, and every space that is 
wrong; that any omitted word or paragraph indention 
is written in with a caret to show the place ; that every 
misspelled word or word incorrectly written is circled. 
Do not mark a second time anything already marked, 
and make no mark for anything that is right ; but if any- 
thing is marked which you think is right, cross out the 
marking by drawing two or three lines through it. In 
any case of doubt, raise your hand and ask me. 

Step 7. (If test papers have been distributed, pupils 
can instantly see the number of the word with which the 
stenographer ended. Otherwise determine the slowest 
and fastest records, and write on the board the part of 
the letter between the ending of the slowest and the 
ending of the fastest.) 

Now we will record the speed. Let us first see what the 
fastest record is. Has any one finished the letter? 
The second paragraph ? (By trial inquiry like this locate 

[ 157 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

the ending of the fastest record.) Now let us see what 
the slowest record is. Has any one failed to finish the 
first paragraph ? The second sentence ? (Determine the 
end of the slowest record.) 

You see (on the test papers or on the board where part 
of the test letter has been written) periods which mark the 
ends of all stroke-words. Every fifth word is numbered 
— the period immediately preceding is the end of that 
word. If the last word has three strokes or more written, 
count it a full word ; if only two strokes, disregard them. 
Spaces between words and punctuation marks count the 
same as letters. When you have determined the number 
of words that have been written, write in the upper right- 
hand corner "Speed, so many words." The speed per 
minute we may then calculate by dividing the total number 
by five, but be sure first to write down the total number 
of words written in the five minutes. After that, write 
"Speed per min., so many words." 

Step 8. Now we will count up the "vital errors" indi- 
cated by carets for omissions of words or paragraphs, or 
by circles around wrong words. Count carefully twice 
over and write the number in the upper right-hand corner 
of the sheet below the speed, after the words "Vital 
Errors." Then count up all the crosses indicating minor 
errors, twice over, and write the number after the words 
"Minor Errors" just below "Vital Errors." 

Step 9. Add together the Vital Errors and the Minor 
Errors, and write the sum after the words "Total Errors." 

Step 10. Deduct the total errors from the "Speed 
per min." to get the "Net Speed." Write the words 
"Net Speed" and the number of words after deduction. 1 

1 This is equivalent to multiplying the errors by five (if 5 is deducted 
for each error) and deducting the result from the total words written 
in five minutes, and then dividing that remainder by five to get the 

[ 158 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Step 11. We wish now to get the number of errors per 
hundred words. We will take the total number of words 
written and regard it as so many hundreds and the nearest 
convenient fraction, — a speed of 240 words would be 
regarded as 2§ hundreds; 242 would be the same; but 
245 we might better regard as 2-| hundreds. Divide the 
total errors by this, taking the nearest whole number, 
with no fractions, and write down the result as "Errors 
per 100 words." 

Step 12. Now carefully check over all these calcula- 
tions, asking questions in case of doubt, to be sure you are 
right. 

Step 13. Return papers to owners. Look over your 
papers to see if any mistakes have been made in the 
marking, but do not make any alterations yourself. I 
will make any changes or corrections that may be re- 
quired. Also count up your vital and minor errors, and 
recalculate your net speed, speed per minute, and errors 
per 100 words. 

Step IJf. As I call the roll, give me the total speed, 
total vital errors, total minor errors, net speed per minute, 
and total errors per 100 words, mentioning what each is 
before you state the number. 

(Words actually used in letter writing are shorter on 
the average than words in sermons, speeches, documents, 
etc. Letter-writing words will average not far from four 
strokes to the word and a space, or five strokes for word 
and space together. Document words will run nearly 
five strokes and a space, or six strokes in all. It is much 
more convenient to mark off typewriting into five-stroke 
words by using the typewriter scale and placing a period 

"Net Speed per Min." If 10 is to be deducted for each error, in the 
step as given above, the total errors should be multiplied by 2 and the 
result deducted from the "Net Speed per Min." 

[ 159 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

after every five spaces. If the number of every fifth 
word is written in, the numbers of other words may easily 
be reckoned. At the ends of lines odd strokes are carried 
over and counted as the beginning of the first word on the 
next line, but care must be maintained to count a space 
for the end of each word, but not after a hyphen. The 
period and two spaces are counted at the end of each 
sentence. Paragraph indentions are not counted, beyond 
the two spaces for a new sentence. On this system a fair 
test may easily be prepared by the teacher. 

(If words are to be figured in much material, a rule may 
be placed down the page at 60, 65, or 70, and the odd 
space of the breakover only counted, and added to the 12, 
13, or 14 words in main portion.) 

TEST ON TYPEWRITER COPYING 

For this test a printed test paper or a regular double- 
spaced typewritten letter should be used. Machine 
stops should be set at 1 and 70. When all the machines 
are set at paragraph indention for the beginning of the 
body of the letter, and the teacher is prepared to time the 
test with a watch which has a second hand, the word to 
start may be given. Use paper 8 or 8-| by 13 inches, all 
letters to be double spaced. 

Step i. Write your name, school, class, and date at 
the extreme top of the sheet (for reference, without regard 
to the letter). At the left-hand side of the second line 
write "Checked by," and in the middle "Rechecked by." 

Step 2. Copy from your test sheet as preliminary 
practice the date line, name and address, and salutation 
of the letter, and set your machine with paragraph inden- 
tion for the beginning of the body of the letter. When I 
give the word, start. (At the end of five minutes say 
"Stop.") 

[ 160 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

Step 3. Pin or otherwise fasten your test sheet to the 
back of the sheet you have written and exchange papers. 
Then write your name in the space after "Checked by." 

Step 4. We will start with the beginning of the body 
of the letter, ignoring any errors in the lines above. 
Under every letter that is wrong (or whole word if the 
entire word is wrong) and every wrong space or punctua- 
tion mark, or any letters that have been erased and writ- 
ten over, or each word if any words have been x-ed out, 
place a small, heavy cross to show an error. First I will 
read the letter through, including the punctuation marks, 
capitals, and paragraphs, and do you follow the paper 
before you without looking on the test copy. Then I will 
let you go over the paper a second time, silently comparing 
the printed copy with the written copy. 

Step 5. Exchange papers again, being sure that the 
printed test is attached at the back of the written test. 
Write your name after "Rechecked by." 

Step 6. As I read again, giving punctuation marks, 
capital letters, and paragraphs, see that a small, heavy 
cross has been placed below each word or letter that is 
wrong, each misstruck letter, each erased letter, each 
irregular paragraph indention, but do not make a second 
cross. Place a circle around each cross that is wrong. 
After following my reading carefully, then silently go over 
the paper again and compare it word by word with the 
printed test paper. 

Step 7. Now to get the speed, notice the last word 
that is written on the paper before you, and compare it 
with the printed test paper, where you will find the ends 
of the stroke-words marked by periods, and the number 
of every fifth word is given. If you have two strokes 
beyond the end of a word, disregard them. If you have 
three strokes, including punctuation or the space at the 

[ 161 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

end of a word, count the odd strokes as a word. Write 
the total number of words in the upper right-hand corner 
after the word "Speed." Make a dash and after the dash 
write the result of dividing the total number of words by 
five, to get the speed per minute. (Teachers will tell 
pupils whether to make record on the test blank or on the 
typewritten copy.) 

Step 8. Now count up the total number of crosses 
indicating errors (omitting, of course, crosses that are 
circled as wrong), and write the number after the word 
"Errors" in the upper right-hand corner. If these errors 
are deducted from the " Speed per min." given above, a dash 
may be made and the result of the subtraction written as 
Net Speed. 1 Regarding the total number of words written 
as so many hundreds and the nearest convenient fraction, 
as 225 or 228 as 2£ hundreds, or 230 or 233 or 235 as 2£ 
hundreds, divide the total number of errors by this to 
get the "Errors per 100 words," which may be written 
after the total errors, following a dash. Count fractions 
of one half or over as a whole word, and disregard smaller 
fractions. (Observe that in this test there is no dis- 
tinction between "vital" and "minor" errors.) 

Step 9. Now carefully go over all your calculations 
to be sure you have made no mistake, and ask me in any 
case of doubt. 

Step 10. Return papers to owners, who will be given a 
few minutes to verify total speed, speed per minute, total 
errors, and net speed. Now as I call the roll, give me 
(for class use total speed and total errors may be the best 
record; for public report, net speed per minute and 
errors per 100 words). 

1 See note on page 160 for remarks on figuring net speed. 

[ 162 ] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

10. Test on Copying for the Mimeograph 

This test must be copied from accurate typewritten or 
printed sheets. 

The test is 25 standard lines, double-spaced, constituting 
one standard typewritten page. Every variation of 
space, indention, or misstriking of letters is counted an 
error. 

Time allowed, 10 to 15 minutes (the test is solely of 
accuracy in normal time). 

Average for high-school graduates is 4^ errors to the 
sheet. 



[ 163 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 
First Series 

TEST ON TYPEWRITER COPYING FOR MIMEOGRAPH 

Copy the following as for mimeographing, exactly as it 
stands, line for line : 

CLAIM FOR LOSS OR DAMAGES 
1. State exactly— 

Place of shipmen t 

Date of shipment, 



Date shipment was received. 



S. Describe character of goods and method of packing. 



3. Describe condition in which goods were received. 



4. Let the person making claim fill in the following: 
Name of person making clai m 
Name of shipper _ 



Name of consignor.. 
Amount of claim 



To whom is claim payable. 



5. Let express agent fill in the following: 

Waybill Shipping station mmm Dat e Transfer, 

I CERTIFY THAT the foregoing statements 
are true, and that the attached invoice 
is the original received by me or an ex- 
act duplicate of the original. 



Person making claim 
Date of this Statement 



164 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 
Second Series 

TEST ON MIMEOGRAPH COPYING 

Copy the following exactly, line for line, same spacing ; 

Sales Report 
States covered 



a. Number of men in each state 



b. City headquarters at. 



Average business per salesman 



Total business for month. 

a. On #1 Grade 

b. On #2 Grade 



c. On Miscellaneous- 



Expenses for the month. 

a. Traveling 

b. Hotel 



c. Circularizing. 

d. Office 



Analysis of net business 



Date (Signed) 

Report OK f d by District- 
Date of OK Address— 



[ 165 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING MIMEOGRAPH 
TEST 

Step 1. Set your machine for double spacing, full 
width, stops at 1 and 70. Place in the machine a plain 
sheet of paper either 8^ by 11 inches or &| by 13 inches. 

Step 2. Write your name, school, class, and date at 
the extreme top on one line. On the second single-spaced 
line write at the extreme left "Checked by" and in the 
middle "Rechecked by." 

Step 3. You will be allowed 15 minutes (if you require 
it) for copying this page. The lines must be reproduced 
exactly, line for line, the indentions being the exact 
number of spaces shown in the copy ; but if the indention 
is over 5 spaces, a variation of one space will not be 
counted against you. The ruled lines may be written 
entirely across the page without counting the spaces, but 
the indention from the right-hand side must be nearly 
as shown. All errors of any kind will be counted against 
you. Now start. 

Step Jf. Exchange papers. Write your name in the 
blank space after "Checked by." Take seats where 
pen or pencil writing can be done conveniently. 

Step 5. As I read I will give you the number of spaces 
in each indention. Make a cross below each space that 
is wrong (not one cross for each typewriter space, but one 
cross for each entire space in the copy), each letter that is 
misstruck, each ruled line of unequal length at the right. 
Call my attention to any irregular variation you do not 
know how to mark. If a word is wrong, count one error 
for the whole word, and the same for a word omitted. 

Step 6. Now count up the number of crosses you find 
indicating errors, and write the number in the upper 
right-hand corner of the sheet. 

Step 7. (Follow the same process for rechecking.) 

[ 166] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

11. Test on Addressing Envelopes with a Pen and 
on Filing 

This is intended as a test on penmanship and envelope 
addressing. Printed or typewritten copy of the addresses 
is required for each person taking the test. The filing 
test consists in arranging the slips when addressed alpha- 
betically according to state, town, and name. 

Addresses should be written on slips of paper about 
5 by 3 inches, arranged as on an envelope. End punctu- 
ation may be omitted. 

The standard rate for addresses of this character (mixed 
three and four line addresses, counting the state as a line) 
in addressing houses is 1000 in 8 hours, or about 21 
in 10 minutes. Endurance must be developed by prac- 
tice to maintain the pace all day; but some indication 
of endurance may be secured by repeating the 10-minute 
test three times in succession, making a half -hour test, 
copying all the addresses given, and then going back and 
copying them again. 

High-school average, — 20 addresses in 10 minutes, or 
60 single letters per minute, 2-J errors in all; average 
of five highest out of 50, 21 in 10 minutes, no errors. 

First Series 

Copy as many of the following addresses as you can in 
10 minutes. Remember, however, that accuracy is much 
more important than speed. Arrange the addresses in the 
form they should appear on an envelope. 

1. Ursula Dralle, 3. Andrew Franklen, 
6620 Lafayette PL, 2087 Winthrop Ct., 
Petaluma, Cal. Navarre, Minn. 

2. Wm. A. Douglass, 4. Janet Whigham, 
Holmes, Wash. Paterson, Wash. 

[ 167] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



5. Dennis Convis, 
Lagos, Cal. 

6. Herman Kelso, 
Paschall, Pa. 

7. F. R. Bartholemew, 
" 1732 Lexington St., 

Culver, Colo. 

8. Samuel L. Trash, 
3744 Rokeby Ave., 
Chollas, Cal. 

9. Douglas Steinbach, 
Lamoka, Tex. 

10. Lorenz Breuer, 
Amsterdam, N. Y. 

11. Harriet Dewey, 

434 Kammerling Ave., 
Kansas City, Mo. 

12. Lucille Harwood, 
7059 E. Kalow Ave., 
Raine, Tenn. 

13. Alfred Everett, 
Batavia, N. Y. 

14. Louise Abbott, 
Susquehanna, Pa. 

15. Andrew Harte, 
849 E. Prairie Ave., 
Louisville, Ky. 

[ 168 ] 



16. George R. Braun, 
Cambria, N. Y. 

17. Nicholas Marten, 
Pekin, la. 

18. Mrs. Frances Palmer, 
Kingston, La. 

19. Matthew Eastman, 
296 S. Abbot Ct., 
Waynesburg, Pa. 

20. Francis Sheridan, 
Springdale, N. J. 

21. Clyde Rhoades, 
Furneaux, Tex. 

22. Victor Frisbie, 
Emery, Cal. 

23. Jeanne Vance, 
507 E. Erie St., 
Los Angeles, Cal. 

24. Hermann Kehoe, 
Sargent, Colo. 

25. Chas. H. Schmitt, 
74 Cortland St., 
Fairfield, 111. 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 



FILING 

Complete 20 cards (making crosses for names) and then 
arrange the cards alphabetically according to state, town, 
and name. Time allowed, 2 minutes. Then write the 
numbers of the cards as so arranged in order and rearrange 
cards as originally numbered. 



2. 



3. 



4. 



5. 



8. 



9. 



10. 



Second Series 



Rasmus Bakke, 11. 

218 W. Oak St., 
Waverly, Wash. 
Henry A. Bannermann, 12. 

Purcell, Nebr. 
Josephine Beebee, 

9746 Broadway, 13. 

Sharpe, Iowa 
Geo. N. Beecher, M.D., 14. 

Abilene, Kans. 
Peter Casazza, 15. 

Pollard, 111. 
Ellen L. Colley, 

821 Wilson Ave., 16. 

Marion, Ohio 
Margaret Howards, 17. 

Cadiz, Ky. 
Samuel L. Glenny, 

3335 W. 38th PL, 18. 

Auburn, N. Y. 
Bannerman Kelpsch, 19. 

Turck, Colo. 
Magnus Leith, 20. 

So. Norwalk, Pa. 



Harriett Downey, 

876 Armitage Ave., 
Wheeling, W. Va. 
James McLane, 

4326 Beacon St., 
Anderson, Ind. 
Alfred Andersen, 

Hathorne, Mass. 
Alice McLoughlin, 

Roslindale, Va. 
Clara Butt Smithe, 

205 N. Long Ave., 
Raleigh, N. C. 
Mamie Rowan, 

Glen Allen, N. H. 
Harry E. Grover, 

2105 Jackson Boul., 
New Orleans, La. 
Chas. Gruel, 

Cambridge, Mass. 
Anthony Martendale, 

Orange, N. J. 
Anna Martini, 

Hatfield, Tenn. 

[ 169] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

21. Chas. G. Hutchinson, 23. Adam J. Johnson, 

6106 Prairie Ave., Furneaux, Tex. 

Mobile, Ala. 24. Francis E. O'Donnell, 

22. John S. Hunter, Hingham, Tex. 

Long Meadow, Ariz. 25. Jerome A. Odell, 

Ocean Bluffs, Del. 

DIRECTIONS FOR GIVING AND GRADING ADDRESSING AND 
FILING TEST 

(Distribute to each person to be tested the printed sheet 
of addresses and a pack of 20 slips of paper about 3x5. 
These are most conveniently handled in an envelope on 
which there is a printed blank for the record, or otherwise 
an extra slip of paper may be distributed and rubber 
bands used to hold the slips in a pack.) 

Step 1. On the envelope (or on a blank slip, writing 
the long way) write your name on the first line, on the 
second line write the school, class, and date. Then 
number the blank slips from 1 to 20, in the upper right- 
hand corner, large and plain. 

Step 2. When I give the word to start, copy the ad- 
dresses on the blank slips of paper as if you were address- 
ing an envelope, placing the name on one line, street 
address on the next, city or town on another, and state 
on a separate line at the bottom. Omit commas at ends 
of lines, but not periods for abbreviations. Copy only 
one address on one slip, doing as many as you can in good 
style in 10 minutes. If you have time to write more than 
twenty addresses, turn over the last slips and continue 
addressing till I say stop. You can number these after 
the test is finished. (Use watch with second hand and 
time the test exactly.) 

Step 3. On your record blank on the fifth line (passing 
over the third line left blank for the name of the person 

[ 170] 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

who checks and the fourth line left blank for the person 
who rechecks) write after the word "Speed" the number 
of the last address you have written, omitting the last 
address if you have written only the name, but counting 
it as one if you have written the name and also the street 
address if there is one, or the town or city. 

Step 4,. Our next test will be one on filing. If you 
have not written as many as twenty addresses, write the 
town and state now, up to and including slip 20, making 
crosses for the names to show you did not write these 
during the ten minutes. I will give you two or three 
minutes if necessary to complete twenty addresses. 

Step 5. Now you will be allowed two minutes to 
arrange the first twenty addresses (disregarding any you 
have written beyond twenty) in alphabetical filing order 
according to states, towns, and names (what is called 
geographical filing). Regard letters for states as you 
find them abbreviated, not in the alphabetical order they 
would be if spelled out. When I give the word, start. 

Step 6. Write the numbers of the cards, with a comma 
between, as you have them now arranged, on the blank 
line at the bottom of your record envelope (or slip), below 
the blank line where you will later write the number of 
"Errors in Filing." 

Step 7. Rearrange your slips in order as they are 
numbered from one to twenty and put them back in the 
envelope (or put rubber band around them), and exchange. 
When you have received another's pack, write your 
name on the third line after the words "Checked by." 

Step 8. As I read the addresses I will pronounce the 
words in each line and then spell them, calling your atten- 
tion to any unusual spelling. Place a small, heavy cross 
just below each letter or figure that you find wrong. 
If a period has been omitted for an abbreviation, you may 

[ 171 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

make a cross for that, but do not make crosses for commas, 
whether they are inserted or omitted. (In first series 
lay special emphasis on double s in Douglass in No. 2, 
e in Franklen in No. 3, one t in Janet in No. 4, one n in 
Herman in No. 6, middle o and e in Bartholemew in No. 7, 
one s in Douglas in No. 9, e on end of Harte in No. 15 and 
spelling of Prairie, e in Marten in No. 17, es in Frances in 
No. 18, one t in Abbot in No. 19, is in Francis in No. 20, 
two n's in Hermann in No. 24. Second series : hhe in 
No. 1, two n's in Bannermann in No. 2, and Purcell 
with a c, two double e's in Beebee in No. 3, one s and 
two zs in No. 5, s on Howards in No. 7, two n's in Glenny 
in No. 8, one n in Bannerman in No. 9, psch in Kelpsch, 
and ck in Turck, two tfs in Harriett in No. 11, Lane in 
McLane in No. 12, and son in Anderson, while in No. 13 
Andersen has sen and Hathorne has Ha and e at the end, 
in No. 15 Smithe has e at the end and i in the middle, in 
No. 19 Martendale has ten.) Look carefully to see if 
additional addresses have been written on the backs of 
any of the slips. Be sure all names and abbreviations are 
capitalized, including "St." for street, "Ave." for avenue, 
etc. (Teacher will find it convenient to mark the test 
paper itself by drawing a short line under each peculiarity 
of spelling noted above.) 

Step 9. Count up the crosses for errors which you find 
and write the number after the word "Errors" in the 
right-hand half of the fifth line (same as that on which 
" Speed " has already been written) . Then make sure that 
the number of the last card on which a full address is 
written has been entered as "Speed." (If there is any 
difference, ask why the owner wrote a different number.) 

Step 10. Now check the numbers of the cards for 
geographical filing as you find them written at the bottom 
of the record. Place a small, heavy cross under the 

[ 172 1 



TWO SERIES OF TESTS 

number of any card which is not in the order as I read : 
(First series) 8, 5, 1, 7, 17, 15, 18, 3, 11, 20, 10, 13, 16, 
6, 14, 19, 12, 9, 2, 4. (Second series) 9, 5, 12, 3, 4, 7, 
17, 18, 13, 2, 15, 16, 19, 8, 6, 10, 20, 14, 1, 11. Now count 
up the crosses and enter the number after "Errors in 
Filing " in the line above. 

Step 11. Return the cards to the envelope (or rubber 
band) and exchange again. Be sure you do not have 
your own pack or the pack you have just marked. Write 
your name on the third line of the record after "Re- 
checked by." (Teachers should see that especially slow 
pupils exchange this time with quicker ones.) 

Step 12. Take your printed test sheet on which you 
find the addresses and compare each address carefully 
one at a time as I call the numbers, observing capital 
letters, abbreviations requiring periods, and particularly 
the spelling of names as I call attention to peculiarities. 
(Here go over again the peculiarities of names in Step 8 
as you come to the addresses mentioned.) If you find a 
cross under anything that is right, draw a circle around it. 
Mark with a small, heavy cross any letter, figure, or 
punctuation mark which you find is wrong but not marked. 
If an error is already marked with a cross, do not make a 
second cross. 

Step 13. Count up all the crosses (not including those 
you have circled) and see if the count agrees with that 
already entered on the record after "Errors." If it does 
not, count again and when you are sure you are right, 
cross out the wrong number thoroughly and write in the 
correct number. Then see that the number on the last 
regularly addressed slip is entered as the "Speed." 

Step 14. As I read again the order of the numbers of 
the cards for alphabetical filing according to states and 
towns, see that a cross has been placed below any number 

f 173 1 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

that is wrong. If a cross has been placed below a number 
that is right, draw a circle around it. Do not make a 
second cross for an error already marked. (Read the 
numbers in order again.) Now count up the crosses, 
omitting those that have been circled, and see that the 
count corresponds to the number already written after 
"Errors in Filing" in the line just above the row of 
numbers. If your count does not agree, count again, and 
when you are sure you are right cross out the first count 
thoroughly and write in the correct number. 

Step 15. (If there is time, at the end of the period, 
otherwise at the next period, all packs of slips having 
been taken up) return packs of cards to owners. We will 
give them a few minutes to see if they have been fairly 
marked. Then as I call the roll let them give their records 
as "Speed 18, Errors 2, Filing Errors 3," or whatever it 
may be. 

GRADING THE PENMANSHIP 

Quality of penmanship may be judged according to the 
Ayres Gettysburg scale, but it can be considered only in 
connection with the speed, and the speed for half an 
hour may be required to show whether quality can be 
maintained at normal speed. Judge the quality by 
comparison with the scale on the tenth card. Only an 
experienced judge of penmanship can do this. The record 
can be made on the same blank following the record on 
addressing for speed and errors. The New York City 
(Lister) scale may be used in place of the Ayres, or the 
Ayres Three-slant scale will serve. 

Ayres' quality 90 may be called "Excellent — 5 " ; qual- 
ity 70, "Good— 4"; quality 50, "Fair— 3"; quality 
30, "Poor — 2." Closer marking will not be worth 
judging for business men considering applicants. 

[ 174 ] 



VI 
MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

THE tests in this book have been designed primarily 
for classroom use in measuring scientifically the indi- 
vidual work of pupils. The pupils and the teacher do the 
work together, instead of throwing all the work on the 
teacher. 

When these tests have once been used, they cease to be a 
safe measure for superintendents or principals in certifying 
pupils to business men, or in getting reliable records for 
the comparison of classes and teachers in a school system. 
For this purpose fresh secret tests, carefully balanced in 
difficulty against the model tests, yet different in material, 
must be provided. So great is the difficulty of getting an 
exact balance that only an expert is likely to be successful. 
For this reason the material for the international type- 
writing tests (and all other sanctioned typewriting tests) 
has been prepared by J. N. Kimball. The fresh series of 
the National Business Ability Tests are also prepared by 
one person. They are then tried out secretly on business 
employees, carefully corrected, and furnished to schools 
much as weights and measures are certified by a Bureau 
of Standards. One prime object of standard tests is to 
reduce to a minimum the variable judgment of different 
teachers, however expert. 

TESTS GIVEN BY SUPERINTENDENTS 

When the secret test papers have been obtained, put 
up in packages of 50, each package complete with direc- 
tions and tabulating blanks, a day will be set for the tests 
and the superintendent will call in a sufficient number of 
principals, assistant principals, or head teachers, who will 
act as examiners for the different classes. These will 

[175] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

be assigned to classes and schools different from their 
own, and directions for giving the tests will be handed 
them and they will go over them with the superintendent 
to be sure everything is clearly understood. Arrangements 
will be made for sending the tabulating blanks to the 
teachers in advance so that the names of pupils may be 
copied preparatory to the test. It will be an excellent 
thing if the superintendent will ask teachers who are to 
give a test to take the test with him, just as if they were 
pupils, using a model test from this book. The directions 
with the secret tests will be identical with those here 
given, except for change of key. By taking a test teachers 
will learn how to give it, in half the time they will by 
listening to explanations. It is not necessary to give a 
whole test, however. 

Experience has shown that teachers should not be 
allowed to give their own tests, as they are inclined to 
strain a point to make the conditions favorable for their 
own classes. As the teacher tests the pupil, so the super- 
intendent should test the teacher and the class. 

When the test is in progress, the teacher should devote 
her attention to discipline, while the examiner conducts 
the test. When it comes to marking the papers, pupils 
should then have all the help that can possibly be given 
them, and the teacher may be allowed to conduct the 
checking, as her voice and manner may be more familiar 
to the pupils. Or she may go about among the pupils 
and observe their work individually, always explaining 
anything that does not seem quite clear. In sending out 
examiners, a careful superintendent will select good 
disciplinarians for classes where he knows discipline is 
likely to be weak, and will send the less efficient dis- 
ciplinarians to classes whose teachers he knows to be 
strong in discipline. 

[176] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

With the smallest possible delay, the person who is to 
give the tests begins to read the directions, pausing after 
each step for the pupils to do what they are told to do. 
Normal, reasonable time should be allowed. There 
should be neither hurry nor dragging. 

Observe that neither teacher nor examiner is allowed to 
answer any questions about the test, or to make any 
explanations ; but the directions may be reread as many 
times as may be necessary, and any emphasis in reading 
that will make the meaning clearer is allowable and even 
desirable. In answer to all other questions the answer 
must always be, "I cannot answer your question. You 
must use your own best judgment." This should be 
spoken in a kindly, encouraging tone. 

It is desirable that during the test the atmosphere of the 
classroom should be as nearly normal as possible. The 
tone of the examiner should be sympathetic. Nothing 
should be allowed to frighten, worry, or irritate the pupils, 
yet no levity or lack of respect should be permitted. An 
air of quiet dignity and importance should prevail. 
Before the test the windows may be thrown open for two 
or three minutes, and the pupils given deep-breathing 
exercises. It may be said, however, that the writer has 
not noticed that physical conditions materially affect the 
test records. 

When tests require exact timing, as the arithmetic tests 
do, a stop-watch or watch with a second hand must be 
used and the time kept to a second. If for any reason 
the timing is inexact, the record should be thrown out. In 
case of tests such as the English tests, which are simply 
intended to be given in normal time, three or four minutes 
over should be allowed if pupils have not quite finished, 
and incomplete papers should be recorded as having "no 
grade." There will be no measure of knowledge of 

[ 177 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

grammar if the paper is not finished. Warning should 
be given five minutes before the close, and then two 
minutes before the close. Finally, if any pupils have not 
finished, two or three minutes additional should be given. 

GRADING THE TESTS 

When the test has been given under very rigid test 
conditions, the grading should be carried on in a relaxed 
atmosphere of utmost helpfulness. The pupils' power 
of correcting is not being tested, and like clerical workers 
in an office they should be handled so as to get the work 
done in the most efficient way. The teacher who is 
familiar with their habits must be very active, and every 
effort should be made to put the pupils in a frame of mind 
to cooperate heartily. The work should not be hurried 
too much, and all questions should be answered very fully 
on this part of the work. 

The papers of pupils who do not seem to be doing good 
work on the first correction should be handed to the most 
alert and capable pupils for rechecking. The teacher 
should look out for this sharply. 

TABULATING THE TESTS 

Pupils have a tendency to mark too severely, marking 
as errors trifling irregularities which are not vital. Or 
they are so intent on looking for errors that they will not 
notice on rechecking correct points that have been erro- 
neously marked. 

To offset this, papers may be returned to the owners to 
look over. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss 
the reasons for things, and questions should be answered 
freely. At the same time, pupils should be strictly for- 
bidden to make any marks whatever on their papers. 

[ 178] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

All errors should be corrected or changes made by the 
examiner (not by the teacher). 

It will be best for the teacher to call the roll and let 
pupils give their own scores. They will feel better to 
give their own records, and will be more likely to remember 
them. The teacher may suggest that they copy them for 
their own reference. As the roll is called, if a pupil hesi- 
tates or seems in any doubt, the examiner should at once 
look at the paper and see if there is any irregularity about 
the marking. Most irregularities will come out at this 
time and can be corrected on the spot if teacher and 
examiner are alert. 

At the close, the examiner should take up all the papers, 
including any blank papers left over or spoiled, and take 
everything at once to the office of the superintendent or 
principal. 

Under this plan teachers and examiners are completely 
relieved of the burden of looking over papers outside the 
class. Rigid adherence to the method here outlined, the 
author fully believes, will yield more accurate results than 
having teachers correct papers under the usual pressure. 
The minds of teachers are not favorably disposed toward 
work outside the class, and they have a tendency to hurry, 
and to depend too much on their individual expert judg- 
ment. It is almost impossible to make teachers follow 
uniform rules. Where an examiner, a teacher, and pupils 
work together, however, there will not be a deviation of 
so much as a jot from the standard uniform system of 
procedure. 

In addition, the following solemn affirmation signed 
by the examiner and the teacher, and handed to the super- 
intendent with the test papers, will emphasize their 
serious responsibility for the tests, especially to the outside 
public : 

[ 179] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

I solemnly affirm that the National Ability Tests in 

(mention subject) were given to Class 

at School on (date) in strict 

accordance with directions, and I believe the results are 
fair and honest in every respect. 

Signed by Teacher 

Signed by Examiner 

INSPECTION OF PAPERS 

All records should be made in number of errors, not in 
percentages, and teachers or examiners should not be asked 
to get averages or medians, or to inspect papers. This 
is a clerical job, and can usually best be done by a trained 
stenographer or bookkeeper. The only thing required 
is to make sure that directions have been followed, and 
the clerical worker will be most accurate in checking up 
this fact. Such a person outside the teaching force will 
also be most free from suspicion of favoritism. 

The inspector must first become thoroughly familiar 
with the directions, and should mark the test papers from 
the key, by way of memorizing the correct forms given in 
the key. Another paper may be corrected, in a second 
effort, by way of fixing the important points in mind, 
since memory must be largely depended on for rapid work. 

Random papers in each class should be looked over 
carefully to see if directions have been followed and if 
pupils have been reasonably efficient. A few errors will 
be found, but if they are not sufficient to change the 
average of the entire class as much as one point, they may 
be disregarded as insignificant. Errors tend to offset 
each other, — points overlooked by points that are right 
but marked as wrong. There is an inevitable margin 
of variation of 2 or 3 per cent either way, and a variation 
of no more than 1 per cent will not mean anything. 

[180] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

Over-conscientious inspectors are sometimes unduly 
worried by finding a few errors. If they will correct all 
the papers in one class and see how little difference it 
makes on the totals, they will get a proper sense of the 
proportionate significance of such errors. 

The great thing is to see whether the teachers have 
failed to follow the directions so that certain classes of 
errors run through many papers. If too many errors 
appear, all the papers may be thrown out. Inspectors 
cannot be asked to regrade papers. 

Once the system is in good working order, the inspectors 
will be occupied chiefly in finding the averages or medians 
and tabulating the class records. The author found that 
five minutes to a class of forty pupils was sufficient for a 
record of the three elementary arithmetic tests, or the 
tests in grammar and punctuation given at one time. 
Ten minutes to a class would be a large allowance, and if 
more is required, something is wrong. That means from 
half a day to one full day for the arithmetic records or the 
English records of 1000 pupils in 25 or 30 classes, and 
of double that time for both series. 

FINDING THE MEDIAN 

We all know what "averages" are. The errors of all 
pupils in a class are added up and divided by the number 
of pupils. The result is the "arithmetical mean" or 
average number of errors per pupil. 

It is considered fairer to the teacher to judge by the 
middle 50 per cent of the class, excluding consideration 
of the extremely brilliant or the extraordinarily dull, who 
might unduly raise or lower the average of the class. 
For a similar reason, the "median" or middle grade is 
preferred to the average in most cases. This means that 
if the pupils are arranged in order of merit, the score of 

[ 181 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

the middle pupil will be taken as the median, and there 
will be an equal number who are better than he and who 
are worse than he. If there are 35 in a class, the 18th 
pupil counting from either end will have the score which 
is accepted as the median, or a substitute for the average. 
Pupils who make an atrocious number of errors will not 
affect the class standing any more than those who make 
one or two more errors than the median, and a certain 
element of unfairness to the teacher and to the majority 
of the class is removed. 

Moreover, in ordinary practice the median is found with 
great speed when the inspector knows just how to proceed. 

To get the theory, we may take a class and first find 
out how many pupils there are in half, or what is the 
number of the middle pupil. If there is an odd number 
there will be a middle pupil, as, in the case of a class of 
35, it will be the eighteenth pupil. If there is an even 
number there will be two middle pupils and the median 
will be the average of the two, — in a class of 36, halfway 
between the eighteenth and the nineteenth. 

Then we will make a tabulated list, first counting up 
the number of pupils who have made no mistakes, then 
the number who have made one mistake, and the number 
who have made two mistakes, etc., so that we shall have a 
table like the following : 

errors, 2 pupils 8 errors, 3 pupils 

1 error, 3 pupils 9 errors, 1 pupil 

2 errors, 3 pupils 10 errors, 2 pupils 

4 errors, 4 pupils 11 errors, 1 pupil 

5 errors, 2 pupils 12 errors, 2 pupils 

6 errors, 5 pupils 13 errors, 2 pupils 

7 errors, 4 pupils 14 errors, 1 pupil 

Total, 35 pupils 
Median, 18th pupil, one of the 5 who made 6 errors 

[ 182 ] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

Since there are five pupils who made six errors, of 
whom three stand in the half of the class that made 
fewer than the median and only one in the half that made 
more than the median, some statisticians have proceeded 
to get a "true median" by taking^5 and a fraction that 
will represent the distribution of those who have just 6 
errors. This is of importance when dealing with groups 
in large tabulations, as all between 75 per cent and 80 per 
cent. In that case a more exact median may be found by 
taking a midpoint proportionate to the number above 
and below. Some others, as for example S. A. Courtis, 
instead of averaging the two middle pupils in an even 
class, take the lower score, but little is saved by that. 

In practice it is not necessary to make a table of the 
sort shown. The experienced inspector will soon be able 
to look down a column of scores and see by inspection that 
the median must be about 6. He will then start in and 
count up all scores of 6 or below, getting a total of 19, 
which is just one above the 18th or median-score pupil. 
He will then glance back to see that there are enough 
scores of 6 so that the 18th pupil will be one of them, and 
will write down 6 at the foot of the column as the median. 
If he had chosen 5 and had been able to count up only 14, 
he would then have proceeded to go over the scores again 
to count also the 6's, until he came to 18 counts. On this 
plan the median of a class of 40 can be found in less than 
a minute, often in half a minute. 

COUNT OF ERRORS AND PERCENTAGES 

Simple count of errors is very much easier to handle in 
the class and in making up statistics than percentages 
formed by deducting so many per cent for each error, and 
on this plan far fewer mistakes will be made. 

But when it comes to interpreting and comparing results 

[ 183 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

it is very desirable to have the different tests in the same 
terms, even if the standards of what a normal pupil should 
do are different, since improvement will at least be meas- 
ured in the same terms. The National Tests have been 
made up on a mechanical system, usually of fifty points, 
— in the case of grammar and punctuation divided up 
between elementary and advanced, 20 points in the 
elementary grammar and 30 points in the elementary 
punctuation. Other tests, however, cannot be scored 
on the percentage plan, as for example arithmetic. You 
can get nothing better than the mere count of figures in 
all answers for the speed, and figures wrong for the errors. 1 
The relation between total figures and figures wrong might 
be expressed as percentage of accuracy, and Courtis uses 
a rough table for finding this percentage. The present 
writer believes that the ordinary person can figure that 
percentage for himself by inspection so well that the 
great labor of calculating it exactly is not worth paying 
for. 

To change count of errors into percentage, the inspector 
may use the following tables. As soon as he finds the 
median number of errors, he will look in the table and 
write below the median number of errors the correspond- 
ing percentage. 

1 See shortened Courtis Tests in Arthmetic on page 88. 



[ 184 ] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 



Deducting 2% 


Deducting 3% 


Deducting 3£% 


Deducting 5 % 


Errors 


.% 


Errors 


% 


Errors 


% 


Errors 


% 


1 


98 


1 


97 


1 


97 


1 


95 


2 


96 


2 


94 


2 


93 


2 


90 


3 


94 


3 


91 


3 


90 


3 


85 


4 


92 


4 


88 


4 


87 


4 


80 


5 


90 


5 


85 


5 


83 


5 


75 


6 


88 


6 


82 


6 


80 


6 


70 


7 


86 


7 


79 


7 


77 


7 


65 


8 


84 


8 


76 


8 


73 


8 


60 


9 


82 


9 


73 


9 


70 


9 


55 


10 


80 


10 


70 


10 


67 


10 


50 


11 


78 


11 


67 


11 


63 


11 


45 


12 


76 


12 


64 


12 


60 


12 


40 


13 


74 


13 


61 


13 


57 


13 


35 


14 


72 


14 


58 


14 


53 


14 


30 


15 


70 


15 


55 


15 


50 






16 


68 


16 


52 


16 


47 






17 


6Q 


17 


49 


17 


43 






18 


64 


18 


46 


18 


40 






19 


62 


19 


43 


19 


37 






20 


60 


20 


40 


20 


33 






21 


58 






21 


30 






22 


56 














23 


54 














24 


52 














25 


50 














26 


48 














27 


46 














28 


44 














29 


42 














30 


40 















INTERPRETING RESULTS 

In the case of all standard tests, all results are to be 
judged by comparison with standard averages obtained 
from testing large numbers of groups known to be repre- 
sentative. 

The writer has found that many small groups selected 

[ 185 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

as representative are far more satisfactory than very large 
groups as they come at random. Thousands of pupils in 
New York City will average up very much alike, in spite 
of vast differences between individuals. Then go to 
some other city and thousands of pupils will average up 
quite differently. 

Averages to be used as standard for comparison should 
be collected through expert selection so as to get only 
what appears to be the typical or normal on several 
considerations. 

Then all grades will be judged by comparison with this 
standard. 

For example, in elementary spelling satisfactory be- 
ginners in business offices seem to average about 90 per 
cent, and so in spelling on this test 90 per cent may be 
counted fair ; high-school graduates average 95 per cent, 
and this may be counted good; while experienced em- 
ployees average about 98 per cent, and this may be con- 
sidered excellent. On elementary grammar, however, 
satisfactory beginners average 72.5 per cent; high-school 
graduates, 81 per cent; and experienced employees, 95 
per cent ; and these become the standards for fair, good, 
and excellent. On punctuation, again, the standards 
seem to be 60 per cent, 73 per cent, and 73 per cent. 
Ninety per cent in spelling is no higher than 60 per cent 
in punctuation. 

At the same time, as each of these tests contains 50 
points that ought to be known to the satisfactory business 
worker, each perfectly natural and reasonable, we may 
fairly say that in general, while the difficulty of the tests 
may differ somewhat, the country as a whole and schools 
on the average are more efficient in spelling than they are 
in grammar or punctuation. The author believes that 
punctuation is not well taught in American schools, and 

[186] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

there is considerable evidence that while correct gram- 
matical usage is learned in business, there is very little 
improvement in punctuation after pupils get into busi- 
ness. 

To help the ordinary untrained person to understand 
averages in an Efficiency Employment List, therefore, it 
is well to attach to the figures such rough descriptive 
terms as "Fair," "Good," "Excellent," and "Deficient" 
or "Poor." These may particularly well be attached to 
simple counts of errors when no percentages can be figured. 

THE SCALE OF 5 

All scales for measuring mental products are subject 
to inaccuracy through accidental circumstances, and 
results cannot be applied too rigidly. In the case of 
individuals, the writer does not believe that a classifica- 
tion closer than a scale of 5 is usually reliable, certainly 
not when the judgment of any individual grade-marker 
must enter in. This may be expressed as Failure — 1, 
Poor — 2, Fair — 3, Good — 4, and Excellent — 5, 
allowing a range of one half point above and below and 
sometimes going so far as to express this as Fair — 3%. 
The words would then be the working guide in forming a 
judgment, and the figures could be used in getting aver- 
ages. The United States army intelligence tests are rated 
on practically the same scale, including C + and C— cor- 
responding to 3^ and £J when C is Fair — 3. 

The percentage scales could be turned into the scale of 
5 like this by taking the average for beginners in business 
as Fair — 3, the average of high-school graduates as 
Good — 4, and the average of experienced employees as 
Excellent — 5. In this way the ordinary outsider would 
often get a better idea of scores than from comparing 
percentages with standards, a slightly complicated process, 

[ 187 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

and teachers and pupils would not overvalue slight dif- 
ferences which really have no significance. 
These remarks apply to judging individuals. 

CLASS MEDIANS MORE EXACT 

When you put twenty or more individuals into a class 
group, the accidental variations up or down tend to offset 
each other, and the class median is much more finely sig- 
nificant ; in the case of many classes averaged together it 
is very closely significant. Yet even here a variation of 
3 or 4 per cent may be without any intelligible meaning. 
Differences of 1 per cent are to be taken seriously only 
when entire cities are compared. 

In the case of individuals it has been generally recognized 
by psychologists that conclusions should never be based 
on a single test. One writer says that at least two tests 
should be given. The present writer has used ten dif- 
ferent tests given at three different times, or in three 
groups, and this series taken as a whole is very reliable. 
Probably not less than three tests from different points 
of view at different times may be regarded as a safe 
working minimum for judging school work and general 
intelligence. 

EDUCATIONAL TESTS AND INTELLIGENCE 

Business men want some sign of quickness of intelligence 
and of faithful, patient industry. These may be measured 
by the tests on tabulation (mental alertness) and repro- 
ducing instructions; but single tests of that sort are 
considerably less reliable than series of educational tests. 
All standard educational tests of speed and accuracy in 
doing things may be interpreted to show intelligence and 
patient industry, on the scale of Fair, Good, and Excellent. 

To judge these qualities proceed as follows : 

[ 188 ] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

First, get the class medians of arithmetic and English. 
These will show what training the average pupil has had. 

Quickness may be judged by the comparative speed in 
arithmetic, that is, by comparison of the individual score 
with the median of the class, not with the standard aver- 
age; also taking into account accuracy. If the speed 
and accuracy in arithmetic are comparatively high, and 
the scores in the various English subjects are also high, 
or high with only one exception which may be accidental, 
the quickness of intelligence may be rated high, % and 
industry is probably high, too. If the speed in arithmetic 
is low but the accuracy is high and English subjects are 
high, the patient industry may safely be reckoned high 
though the mental quickness is low. If the speed is high 
and the errors high, we judge that speed was attained at 
the expense of accuracy and the patient industry certainly 
is low. If English subjects are high in such a case, we 
suppose that pupil does not have a talent for arithmetic, 
or has not been correctly trained. 

Speed in addressing is a good measure of general quick- 
ness to confirm speed in arithmetic, as it is of an entirely 
different mental character. Of course we must never 
forget that good penmanship, and even speed in penman- 
ship, accuracy in arithmetic, etc., depend chiefly on good 
teaching; but when all the individuals in the same class 
have had the same teaching, we may consider individual 
differences as indicating relative intelligence. 

MEASURING IMPROVEMENT 

In order to measure improvement we need two parallel 
series of tests of equal difficulty, one to be given at the 
beginning of a period of work and the other at the end, 
and it should be a matter of indifference which test is 
given first. 

[ 189] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

In the past, teachers have made their examinations pro- 
gressive, and have given them only at the close of the 
period of study. There was therefore no real measure of 
improvement at all except as the judgment of the teacher 
expressed itself in the marks of the pupils. Good pupils 
might accomplish nothing during the period, being marked 
equally high at the start and at the finish, and poor pupils 
might make a great improvement and yet not come up 
to the teacher's passing grade; or if they were able to 
squeeze through, they were content to remain on that low 
level. 

At first educators were inclined to apply parallel stand- 
ard tests unexpectedly, in an effort to measure normal 
progress in developing ability ; but teachers were always 
suspecting what was coming, and some of them sacrificed 
everything else to give time to developing the special 
ability that was being tested. 

Clearly it is very unfair to neglect the time element. 
In all records of improvement the time in the classroom, 
and also the time spent by pupils outside the classroom 
in preparation, should be given as exactly as possible. 
The only way in which this can be done uniformly and 
exactly is to allot a certain period, say five or six weeks, to 
intensive work on the subject to be tested and let all 
teachers alike devote their entire class time to the work 
during that period. Thus the vicious habit of slighting 
other work so as to steal a march on competing teachers or 
classes in public contests, which has been so serious an 
evil in connection with the old typewriting contests, is 
forestalled. 

Exact records of improvement offer a much fairer basis 
for satisfactory school grades than the old system. If 
bright pupils do not work hard and demonstrate improve- 
ment, they should not be marked high ; and if poor pupils 

[ 190 1 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

demonstrate improvement, they should be given credit 
accordingly, even if still below the average, for steady 
improvement will in time bring them up to standard. It 
is somewhat easier for poor classes or poor pupils to 
show improved marks than for classes and pupils at first 
ranked high, but on these standardized tests this dif- 
ference is not nearly so great as in the case of marks given 
by teachers on their expert judgment. The author has 
found very poor classes quite often making the greatest 
improvement records, and quite as often the very highest 
classes at the start have made the second highest im- 
provement. 

The fairest measure of improvement seems to be ad- 
vancement from one standard, as of beginners in business, 
to another standard, as of high-school graduates in busi- 
ness. Percentages showing how much the second test 
marks are above the first test marks are fallacious. In the 
case of fundamentals, where a collection of facts in mini- 
mum essentials needs to be mastered and each 2 per cent 
or 5 per cent means one more fact understood and re- 
duced to practice, mere progress up a percentage scale 
seems the fairest measure of improvement, as from 60 per 
cent to 80 per cent is 20 points of improvement, and from 
70 per cent to 90 per cent is also 20 points of improvement, 
though from 80 per cent to 100 per cent might be con- 
siderably harder to attain than from 80 per cent to 90 pei 
cent. Those who reach or approach 100 per cent should 
have a chance at a more advanced test, the improvement 
on which should be added to the improvement on the 
test on which they attained 100 per cent or near to it. 
The device of the advanced tests corrects the inequality 
almost entirely. 



[191] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

"distribution of frequencies" shown by graphs 

One of the most serious problems for public schools with 
large classes is keeping the pupils properly graded, or 
taking care of the bright ones at the top and the dull ones 
at the bottom when the instruction is of necessity aimed 
at the average. 

The table on page 182 shows how many pupils made 
each different number of errors, or how "frequent" a score 
of four errors was, or a score of six errors, etc. This 
column of the number of pupils is called the "frequencies" 
in technical statistical language. We see that the number 
of pupils toward the middle is generally larger than toward 
either end; that is, there is a "central tendency" in the 
class, and the median shows that central tendency. At 
the top of the column the variation in number of pupils 
is fairly steady, increasing toward the middle except at 
one point. Toward the bottom there is more irregularity 
and less central tendency. This "distribution of fre- 
quencies" shows a class that is not very well centralized; 
that is, is poorly graded. Since the instruction in a large 
class is almost necessarily aimed chiefly at the average, 
it is a little wrong for all who are not exactly at the average 
point, as, in this case, for 5 who have a score of 6 errors. 
For those who are near the median or average, the error 
is not great, but for all who are near the extremes above or 
below it is a serious matter, and usually means considerable 
loss of efficiency in their class work. The distance from 
the central point is called the "deviation," and the median 
deviation will be the quartile range, — the difference 
between the point below which 25 per cent of the class 
stand and the point below which 75 per cent of the class 
stand divided by two, or half of the middle 50 per cent of 
the class (sometimes called the "probable error"). 

[ 192 ] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

This distribution is best shown by a graph, which also 
can easily be adapted to showing the improvement and the 
variation from the normal average. 

For all graph work we require paper faintly ruled off 
in small squares, representing our units. 

It will be much easier to confine ourselves to count of 
errors instead of taking the corresponding percentages with 
their larger numbers. 

Two scales are laid off, one along the bottom of the 
figure, which usually will represent number of errors, and 
one vertically at the left-hand side, which usually will 
represent number of pupils. As the horizontal and ver- 
tical units are entirely different, we can vary them by 
grouping as we may find it convenient in keeping the 
figure on the paper. If we have a small class with no more 
than 10 pupils in the largest group, we may use 1 pupil 
as the vertical unit. If we have larger groups so that 
as many as 100 pupils may be in one group, we can take 
10 pupils as the vertical unit, so that our graph will not 
go any higher with 100 pupils than with 10. 

The first step always is to make a table showing how 
many pupils scored each successive number of errors of 
whatever it may be from to the greatest number in 
serial order. 

We then make on our graph a dot at the point of inter- 
section between the number of errors and the number of 
pupils as shown in our table. 

The simplest way is to connect these points with a con- 
tinuous line. This line forms the "frequency polygon." 
Another polygon may be plotted on the same graph, the 
points connected by a dotted line, to show either the 
improved standing on a second test or the average of 
a school system, etc. 

Another even better visual method is to erect columns 

[ 193 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 



that will occupy the width of one unit, and reach a "level" 
opposite the number of pupils. Where columns overlap, 

8 



O 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 
Fig. 1. Polygon of table on page 182; errors counted horizontally, 
pupils vertically. 

part may be made solid black to show the results of one test 
and the other part may be made as an outline to show the 



























































































































































/ 










ht, 














































\ 














s 





















Errors 



Opening 

3 errors 2 classes 

4 1 




0123456783 5 1 

Fig. 2. Graph of 18 Gary classes in elementary grammar. Light 
columns show opening test (distribution somewhat skewed) ; black col- 
umns show final test after five weeks of drill (distribution nearly normal) . 

[ 194 ] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 



results of another. These levels are connected up with 
vertical lines and thus another style of "polygon" is formed. 
When speed and accuracy in arithmetic are to be judged 
jointly, we may take points of speed as the unit for our 
base and points of accuracy for our vertical, and make a 
heavy dot at the intersection for every pupil or class or 
school. For this we do not need to make any preliminary 
table. The distribution can be seen by observing how far 
each dot is from a diagonal line, or curved line, represent- 

8 

7 

6 
£ 
4 
3 
Z 

80 90 100 HO 120 130 140 

Fig. 3. Correlation of errors and speed in arith- 
metic for 32 Brooklyn schools (page 212). Vertical 
scale shows errors; horizontal scale shows speed. 
The correlation line a is drawn from lowest speed 
with lowest errors to highest speed with nearly 
highest errors (one freak in high errors ignored), 
while the dash line b shows uniform percentage for 
increased speed, and dot-and-dash line c indicates 
the business standard of accuracy in relation to 
speed, attained by only one school. The tendency 
to sacrifice accuracy to speed is very apparent. 






Sp. 


Ebs. 


104 


3 


112 


3.65 


121 


4.75 


127 


4.33 


111 


3.9 


116 


4.7 


100 


5.2 


111.5 


4 


98 


4.4 


97 


4.46 


83 


3.75 


99 


3.5 


103.7 


5.25 


106 


3.6 


124 


4.4 


119.5 


4.5 


122 


4.5 


120 


2.5 


105 


Q.5 


122 


5 


98 


2.86 


98 


3.5 


125.5 


4.93 


117.5 


5.33 


101 


3.5 


77 


2 


112 


4.2 


120 


5 


126 


6 


135 


6 


104 


3.1 


129 


4.45 



[ 195 ] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

ing a normal correlation. This diagram is used to show 
correlation of any two different tabulations expressed in 
different units of value, as, for example, the relation 
between test records and teachers' marks, as well as the 
relation between speed and accuracy in arithmetic. 

HOW TO PREPARE AN EFFICIENCY EMPLOYMENT 
REGISTER EASILY 

Pupils who take technical courses and finish them get 
splendid help in finding good positions. The many thou- 
sands who drop out from the seventh grade to the end 
of the high school and do not take technical courses get 
no help at all. They are absorbed into business in a 
haphazard way which is exceedingly costly to business, 
and very unfair to the pupil. These pupils go to make 
up the 75 per cent of general clerks and office boys. 

The chief vocational asset of these pupils is their 
greater or less accuracy in performing common operations, 
which can be measured by the National Tests. Here is the 
easy way to manage that. 

Twice a year, about the middle of each semester, test 
all pupils in those classes from which any considerable 
numbers will leave to go to work. The testing is done as 
has been described in detail in this book. 

Hand out slips like the following to such pupils as say 
they may leave school to go to work by the end of the 
semester. 

The top of the slip is perforated so as to make a card 
3X5 inches when torn off, and contains the name and 
address of the pupil. The lower part contains his record 
as made on the tests, and answers to some questions which 
business men will wish to have. A duplicate numbering 
machine places the same number on the upper part and 
on the lower part. 

[ 196] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

No 

Do you expect to leave school to go to work by the end of this semester ? 

If so, fill out this blank and get free employment agency service, with 
chance at highest wages. 

Name 

Home address 

Borough 

Nearest 
School Home Tel. No 

[Perforation. Upper portion will make an alphabetical card index.] 

No 

Age Nationality of Parents 

At the close of each test write in the proper space below number of 
errors, and speed if called for, and ATTACH THIS SLIP TO YOUR 
TEST PAPER for inspection. 

Addition Fractions Percentage 

Speed Errors Speed Errors Speed Errors 

Addressing Adv. Spell. El. Spell. 

Speed Errors Fil. Ers. Errors % Errors % 

Elem. Gram. Adv. Gram. Elem. Punc. Adv. Punc. 

Errors % Errors % Errors % Errors % 



Pupils are not expected to enter percentages, only errors. 

Penmanship 

Teachers will check each grade inspected as entered above. 

Name of Inspector 

Sample of Application Blank for Efficiency Employment Register 
(Size, 5 inches wide, upper portion 3 inches deep.) 

Such tests are selected as are most likely to be of value 
to employers, and to be most quickly and conveniently 
given by teachers. 

At the time of each test the employment application 
blanks are offered and given out to those that want them. 

[ 197] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

At the close of the test they are taken up. Each pupil 
enters on the blank the record made on the test of that 
day and attaches the blank to his test papers. These 
papers with the blanks are separated from the others and 
the records entered are at once verified by a quick inspec- 
tion, preferably by a clerk in the principal's office. Then 
the application blanks are sent to the room where the next 
test is to be given, so that the results of that can be entered 
by the pupil and the blank attached to his papers. Thus 
the record he has made can be quickly inspected. Only 
papers of those who are seeking employment receive this 
special inspection. 

When the tests are finished and all the records have been 
entered on the application blank, the penmanship teacher 
will go to the principal's office and judge and enter the 
grade on penmanship. This is the most laborious thing 
that needs to be done by any one person. If the numbers 
are large, the teacher will have to secure assistance. 

Next the application forms are reviewed by a reliable 
clerk. The duplicate numbers are placed on the top and 
bottom portions. The numbers of errors are changed to 
percentage where necessary, or an interpretation of Fair, 
Good, or Excellent is entered in the form in which the 
record will be published. The top part is torn off and 
placed in a card tray or file in numerical order. The 
lower portions, in numerical order, are ready to be 
copied on a sheet like the illustration as shown for New 
York. 

A few of the best records may be picked out, mimeo- 
graphed, and distributed to large employers by way of 
advertising the list ; or names and addresses may be 
written in the Register itself just above the records, as 
in the following form. Then the 3X5 name slips may 
be used to form an alphabetical index. 

[ 198] 



MEASURING CLASSES AND TEACHERS 

EFFICIENCY EMPLOYMENT REGISTER FOR SCHOOL 

School Employment Officer School Phone 



Spelling 


Punctu- 
ation 


Adding 


Frac- 
tions 


Percent- 
age 


Addressing 


Penman- 


No. Errors 


Speed 


Ers. 


Sp. 


Ers. 


Speed 


Ers. 


Sp. 

eAd 
18 


Ers. 

dress, 
3 


Filing 


ship 


No. One, Jo 
5 


hn Boyd, 

7 


Age — 
16 


-Nat 
2 


B 

ional 
36 


oys 

ity P 

8 


arents, 
5 


Horn 
2 


Home 
1 


Phone 
Fair 


No.Two.Ge 


raid Mur 


phy, A 


ge — 


, Na 


tional 


ity Pa 


rents, 


Ho 
Add 


me 

ress, 


Home 


Phone 


3 


8 


12 


1 


30 
etc., 


6 
etc. 


7 


1 


20 


1 


2 


Good 



The complete list is copied on the typewriter with as 
many carbons as may be needed, and these copies are 
deposited with the most intelligent employment agencies 
available. Y. M. C. A. employment agencies know most 
about office help, and can best interpret a record of this 
kind. The Chamber of Commerce may volunteer to 
furnish a specially trained person to administer the list. 

The existence of the list should be widely advertised in 
the newspapers. Then telephone calls for help will come 
to the agencies administering the list, one of which may 
be the special employment department of the school. A 
careful record must be kept of all inquiries received, and 
boys or girls who are placed, so there will not be waste 
effort in trying to get those already placed. If the list is 
ready one or two months before the end of the semester 
when most of these pupils expect to leave, there will be 
time to work ahead and fill positions intelligently. If 
the record is not ready till the end of the semester, much 
of its usefulness will be lost. 

Such a list as this can be canvassed for special abilities, 
and in many cases it will appear that such young people 
should be kept in school for additional special training. 
Now too often these boys and girls drop out and the 

[ 199] 



COMMERCIAL TESTS AND HOW TO USE THEM 

teachers or even parents know nothing about it till the 
position has been found and accepted, and a change of 
plans is difficult to effect. If the best positions go to the 
best records on this list, young people will be eager to get on 
it, and teachers will know in advance that they intend to 
leave school, and can study their cases before it is too late. 

U.SUSmplcyoent Service 

Hew York EFFICIENCY EMPLOYMENT LIST February 1, 1918 
8th Grade Graduates 

This is a register of the boys and girls who. are obliged, to 
leave school and go to work* made by the Superintendent of Schools 
with National Business Ability Tests of. speed and accuraoy In perform- 
ing common operations of the business office* 

Letters from approved employers addressed to any of the key 
numbers, if enclosed in .stamped envelopes, will be forwarded by the 
U.S'.Employment Service to the homes of the applicants, who may be asked 
to call for an interview. Or on request any school will send selected ' 
applicants, each with a certificate showing his test record. 

Judge eaoh person listed by comparison of his record with the 
averages obtained by testing representative employees In the offices of 
the National Cash Register Co., Burroughs Adding Machine Co*, National 
Cloak & Suit Co., Filene's, Swift & Co., Marshall Field & Co., Common- 
wealth Edison Co., and others, as follows: 



SATIONAL AVERAGES; 



Elem. Spell. Elem. Gram. Elem.Punc. 



Anthmetio 
Sp. Era. 
64 1.1 
112 2 



Beginners (Gram. Sen. Grade. ) 9l£ 72.5$ 65$. 

High School Grads.(Commer.) 95 SI 73 

Experienced Employees 98 95 85 

For grammar school beginners, 9i# is fair in spelling, 72. 5# is fair 
in grammar, and 65# is fair in punctuation, according to the difficulty 
of the toot. , , . , , - I, , i . 

KEY: Nationality of Parents— A American, Au Austrian, J Jewish, 
I Italian, G Greek, Gr. German, R Russian, Ro Roumanian, H Hungarian. 
Employment Preferred— M Mechanical, or out Of doors, .Office. Arithmetic 



multiplying for n 


.ne minutes). 


"Ers." 


errors (number 


Pf flf 


ares wr 


mff). ,, |IM 








Employ- 








Men- 


Pen- 


Eey numbers 


Age 


Nat lor 
allty 


- ment 
Pre* 




BUSI 


HESS ACCURACY 


tal 
Alert- 


man- 


Of Applicants 


Elem. 


Elem. 


Elem. 


Arithmetic 


ship 








ferred 


Spell. 


Gram. 


Punc. 

"eoT 


132 


Ers. 
2 


ness 
Excel. 




Boy No. 1 


16 


Gr 





100£ 


95% 


Good 


2 


16 


H 





98 


85 


70 


58 





Fair 


Excel* 


S 


16 


J 





96 


70 


50 


112 


10* 


Good 


Poor 


10 


^16 


J 





86 


75 


67 


88 


5 


Fair 


Fair 


12 


16 


R 





76 


65 


15 


100 


10 


Fair 


Poor 


£1 


16 


J 





90 


60 


80 


67 


2 


Fair 


Good 


25 


16 , 


J 


u 


94 


50 


47 


67 


4 


Poor 


Fair 


Girl No. 100 


16 


R 





96 


85 


70 


51 


8 


Fair 


Fair 


104 


16 


A 


M 


96 


65 


77 


66 


4 


Fair 


Fair 


105 


16 


fi 





98 


75 


73 


64 


1 


Fair 


Good 


106 


17 


Au 


M 


96 


70 


83 


70 


2 


Fair 


Good 


107 


17 


Au 





95 


80 


77 


58 


7 


Fair 


Fair 


109 


16 


A 





88 


50 


77 


57 


6 


Fair 


Fair 


110 


18 


B 





98 


76 


67 


62 


4 


Fair 


Fair 


111 


16 


Au 





90 


75 


73 


108 


4 


Good 


Fair 



First page of an employment list sent out in New York, changed to 
show improvements suggested by employers. Grades are actual. 



[ 200 ] 



! 



APPENDIX 

The following actual records show how single classes, a small 
school system, a larger school system, and a very large school 
system may most conveniently be reported. 

In grouping, the class is preferred as a unit, since in elementary 
schools it runs pretty uniformly about 40 pupils and in high 
schools about 20, and it offers a measure of the capacity of the 
teacher when a second test is given so that improvement can 
be measured as well as original ability of the pupils. Comparison 
of schools may serve to measure the efficiency of principals. In 
New York it was noticeable that in large schools the classes 
were likely to average low, while in small schools they averaged 
higher. Was this due to the fact that the principal had more 
time to give to individual teachers ? 



[ 201 



APPENDIX 



REPORT OF J. W. GROVES, SUPERVISING PRINCIPAL, ONTARIO, 
CALIFORNIA 

Special class of those whom teachers thought likely to fail to pass county board 
examinations for graduation. Tests given before and after drills of 15 minutes 
a day on each subject for 5 weeks. All but 5 passed county board exami- 
nation. 





)F Pupil 


Spelling 


Grammar 


Punctuation 


Name ( 


















Elem. 


Adv. 


Elem. 


Adv. 


Elem. 


Adv. 






% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


Harold 


. 1st test 


98 


38 


45 


67 


23 






2d " 


92 


64 


80 


62 


65 


64 


Esta . . 


. 1st " 


84 


26 


40 


73 


19| 






2d " 


66 


34 


60 


58 


29J 


32 


Naomi 


. 1st " 


100 


36 


40 


64 


26| 






2d " 


98 


60 


90 


52 


16 


24 


Richard . 


. 1st " 


76 


42 


45 


70 









2d " 


92 


42 


60 


55 


40! 


32 


Gene . . 


. 1st " 


94 


38 


60 


70 


61! 






2d " 


98 


78 


60 


76 


51 


46 * 


Perry . . 


. 1st " 


98 


38 


30 


61! 


30 






2d " 


98 


44 


58 


65 


31 


44 


Rolla . . 


. 1st " 


92 


32 


35 


64 


12! 






2d " 


96 


42 


65 


60 


33! 


40 


Ebert . . 


. 1st " 


88 


32 


45 


64 









2d " 


96 


46 


90 


65 


44 


18 


Ora . . 


. 1st " 


94 


38 


75 


67 


41! 






2d " 


98 


76 


80 


72 


65 


70 


Rose . . 


. 1st " 


94 


38 


40 


55 


16! 






2d " 


98 


56 


65 


60 


45 


52 


D wight . 


. 1st " 


94 


56 


45 


64 


37 






2d " 


100 


78 


85 


58 


62 


52 


Alex . . 


. 1st " 


96 


56 


80 


51 


30! 






2d " 


96 


84 


82 


76 


58 


68 


Sylvia . . 


. 1st " 


94 


50 


35 


64 


26! 






2d " 


98 


82 


76 


65 


42 


40 


Elbert . . 


. 1st " 


98 


44 


35 


70 


33! 






2d " 


100 


58 


82 


74 


73 


66 


Andrew . 


. 1st " 


94 


52 


65 


70 









2d " 


96 


74 


68 


74 


58 


40 



[ 202 ] 



REPORT OF J. W. GROVES — Continued 



APPENDIX 





Spelling 


Grammar 


Punctuation 


Name op Pupil 
















Elem. 


Adv. 


Elem. 


Adv. 


Elem. 


Adv. 




% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


% 


Thelina ... 1st test 


100 


62 


45 


73 


54A 




2d " 


100 


98 


85 


82 


90- 


70 


Cecile .... 1st " 


96 


50 


85 


73 


23 




2d " 


100 


84 


90 


85 


67 


72 


Lea .... 1st " 


100 


52 


80 


70 


23 




2d " 


100 


86 


84 


62 


74 


60 


Floyd . ... 1st " 


94 


48 


75 


85 


37 




2d " 


100 


84 


90 


85 


72 


60 


Leona . ... 1st " 


100 


76 


70 


70 







2d " 


100 


92 


84 


80 


45 


40 


Ralph .... 1st " 


72 


8 


25 


55 


44 




2d " 


92 


86 


80 


15 


80 


70 


Walter ... 1st " 


76 


26 


60 


61 


16 




2d " 


94 


72 


88 


84 


68 


50 


Gilvy . ... 1st " 


88 


20 


40 


49 


16 




2d " 


94 


82 


86 


74 


64 


70 


Milton ... 1st " 


60 


12 


60 


64 







2d " 


56 


8 


65 


58 








Average before drill . . . 


91% 


45% 


52% 


67% 


24% 




Average after drill . . . 


94% 


67% 


77% 


69% 


53% 





203 ] 



APPENDIX 

REPORT ON NATIONAL TESTS, RACINE, WISCONSIN, 7th AND 8th GRADES 

Showing Improvement in Five Weeks 

April- June, 1917 



National 


Elem. 


Adv. 


Elem. 


Adv. 


Elem. 


Full 




Averages 


Spell. 


Spell. 


Gram. 


Gram. 


Punc. 


Punc. 


Per 




























Cent 


Grammar School 


84% 






61% 










60% 


Impr. 
in 


High School 


95 


% 


76% 


81% 


76% 






73% 


Arith. 


Bus. Employees 


*91% 


85% 


*72% 


85% 






73% 






7th 


8th 


■7th 


8th 


7th 


8th 


7th 


8th 


7th 


8th 


7th 


8th 




Class 1 2d Test 


98 




88 




100 




73 




69 




56 




45 


1st •« 


92 








85 




79 




60 




60 




Class 2 2d M 




98 




98 




100 




75 




73 




63 


50 


1st " 




96 








90 




75 




56 




49 


Class 3 2d " 


98 




76 




95 




73 




57 




48 




33 


1st " 


92 




62 




75 




67 




50 




44 




Class 4 2d " 




98 




62 




85 




70 




73 




64 


12 


1st M 




88 




74 




60 




70 




60 




51 


Class 5 2d " 


84 




46 




85 




70 




65 




62 




33 


1st " 


80 




50 




65 




67 




50 




46 




Class 6 2d " 


90 




51 




85 




70 




63 




56 




40 


1st '• 


86 




58 




65 




64 




47 




42 




Class 7 2d " 




92 




54 




90 




64 




75 




63 


-9 


1st " 




88 




56 




70 




70 




50 




46 


Class 8 2d " 


96 




62 




95 




67 




67 




74 




38 


1st " 


86 




56 




65 




52 




53 




52 




Class 9 2d " 




99 




73 




95 




70 




80 




80 


56] 


1st " 




94 




76 




80 




73 




60 




56 


Class 10 2d " 


93 




69 




95 




72 




81 




75 




63 


1st " 


74 




52 




75 




76 




63 




56 




Class 11 2d " 


92 




62 




95 




67 




57 




49 






1st " 


80 




54 




60 




64 




50 




44 






Class 12 2d " 




98 




94 




95 




88 




97 




92 


? 


1st " 




94 




82 




95 




85 




83 




80 


Class 13 2d " 


94 








95 




76 




57 




50 




60 


1st " 


84 




54 




60 




76 




57 




42 




Class 14 2d " 




98 




66 




97 




70 




69 




58 


35 


1st " 




92 




72 




85 




67 




57 




52 


Class 15 2d " 


92 




70 




70 




64 




53 




36 




26 


1st «• 


35 




82 




68 




64 




37 




38 




Class 16 2d " 




94 




78 




90 




70 




57 




47 


23 


1st " 




88 




70 




70 




70 




53 




54 


Class 17 2d " 


92 




60 




85 




58 




53 




42 




25 


1st " 


79 




56 




55 




61 




50 




44 




Class 18 2d M 




96 




82 




95 




70 




73 




60 


16 


1st " 




88 




65 




70 




67 




60 




54 


Class 19 2d " 


100 








100 




100 




98 




94 




81 


1st - 


94 




96 




85 




85 




80 




76 




Class 20 2d M 




100 




100 




100 




100 




100 




98 


50 


1st " 




96 




96 




95 




94 




93 




88 


Class 21 2d " 


92 




62 




80 




55 








35 




12 


1st " 


84 




56 




65 




64 








48 




Class 22 2d - 




98 




48 




95 




70 




68 




59 


20 


1st " 




96 




66 




80 




73 




60 




54 


Class 23 2d M 


92 




66 




90 




64 




50 




44 




27 


1st M 


84 




56 




75 




67 




37 




34 




Class 24 2d ■• 




98 




74 




95 




64 




70 




60 


7 


1st " 




92 




76 




75 




67 




58 




50 


Class 25 2d •• 


90 




60 




90 




61 




36 




32 




-29 


1st M 


86 




58 




75 




70 




45 




44 




Class 26 2d " 


91 




55 




82£ 




61 




57 




48 




21 


1st " 


86 




54 




75 




64 




50 




38 




Class 27 2d " 




94 




70 




90 




67 




57 




44 


25 


1st " 




92 




70 




70 




67 




57 




58 


Class 28 2d " 




96 




70 




90 




73 




79 




62 


23 


1st M 




86 




66 




70 




70 




50 




52 


Final City Av. 


93 


96.8 


63.6 


74.6 


89.5 


93.6 


70 


73 


61.6 


74 


53.4 


65.3 


34 


Opening City Av. 


84.8 


91.5 


60 


74 


70 


80 


67 


73 


55 


62 


47 


58 



* Satisfactory grammar-school beginners only. Second test is placed above first test 
to facilitate subtraction, so that improvement may be seen. 



[ 204 ] 



APPENDIX 



OPENING AND FINAL TESTS IN LANGUAGE AT GARY, INDIANA 

Showing Improvement in Five Weeks 

February-March, 1917 



School and 

Class 



Element. 
Grammar 



Op. Fi. Imp. 



Advanced 
Grammar 



Op. Fi. Imp. 



Full 
Punctuation 



Op. Fi. Imp. 



100- Word Letter 
op Application 



Opening Final 



Om. 



Total 

Errors 



Om. 



8th Grade — 316 Pupils 



School A— 160 
























Class 14 


63 


85 


22 


65 


61 


-4 


43 


59 


15 


1.6 14.2 .66 




Class 15a 


67 


86 


19 


65 


70 


-5 


42 


48 


6 


2.2 11.6 .63 




Class 15b 


61 


80 


19 


62 


76 


14 


48 


59 


11 


.5 




Class 30 


71 


85 


14 


67 


67 





42 


60 


18 


1 9.7 .6 




School B — 40 


72 


91 


19 


62 


70 


8 


51 


56 


5 


1.6 8.8 .5 




School C— 80 






















Fi. 


Class 52 


67 


98 


29 


63 


73 


10 


47 


68 


21 


2.24 11.2 1. 


To. 


Class 50 


58 


75 


17 


65 


62 


—3 


30 


40 


10 




Ers. 


School D— 36 


55 


80 


25 


64 


58 


-6 


34 


40 


6 




5 



7th Grade — 190 Pupils 













Elementary 




Full 














Punctuation 


Punctuation 




School A— 70 










Class 12 


70 85 


15 


67 67 





42 63 21 


44 


55 11 




Class 13 


75 90 


15 


67 70 


3 


40 63 23 


42 


52 10 




School C— 80 


















Class 48 


60 80 


20 


58 79 


19 


37 44 7 








Class 49 


65 85 


20 


64 79 


15 


42 53 11 








School E — 40 


64 85 


21 


61 64 


3 


30 54 24 


30 


40 10 





9th Grade — 80 Pupils 



School A— 80 
















Class 17 


85 95 10 


64 73 


9 


48 60 12 


48 58 


10 




Class 19 


85 98 13 


79 82 


3 


63 80 17 


66 66 







Class 20a 


80 90 10 


75 76 


1 


69 73 4 


56 68 


12 




Class 20b 


75 95 20 


66 82 


16 


60 70 10 


54 64 


10 





Class 52 had been formed by taking the more advanced 
portion of a larger group of which Class 50 was the inferior 
portion, and this advanced class had five periods a week for 
grammar and punctuation instead of three, and five full periods 

[ 205 ] 



APPENDIX 

a week for letter writing. The teacher of grammar and punc- 
tuation and the teacher of letter writing were particularly 
capable. The scores show the expected result. This class alone 
was able to correct its letters fully, so that a score on total errors 
on the final test could be made. ..All the test letters of the 
system were marked for the opening test by the author. 

Observe that Class 52, though taught by one of the most 
capable teachers in the school system, and composed of picked 
pupils, was at the start little higher on this test of applied 
knowledge than other classes. 

Practically no work was supposed to be done on advanced 
grammar between the opening and final tests, but some teachers 
did not observe this rule and there is an offsetting deficiency in 
punctuation, as for example in the case of Classes 48 and 49, 
handled by the same teacher who conducted the letter writing 
for Class 52. In three instances the final test in advanced 
grammar shows a loss of several points. The tests at Racine 
on advanced grammar run more nearly parallel, as the teachers 
were kept more uniformly on the same work ; yet in a few cases 
the second test shows a loss. This indicates the unavoidable 
accidental variation in conditions and results in individual 
classes, though the averages at Racine confirm the parallel 
value of the second test. 

The improvement in arithmetic at Racine was found by adding 
up all the errors made in any problems in each class on the first 
test, then doing the same on the second test, making a correc- 
tion in the second total in proportion to the increase or diminu- 
tion of the average speed of the class so that we should be deal- 
ing with number of errors in the same number of examples done, 
and then seeing what percentage of the first total the difference 
between the two was. The average improvement was 34 per 
cent, and it appeared to be the same at Gary, where improvement 
was calculated by a slightly different method. 

Failure to improve seemed to be due to lack of intensive 
effort by the teacher at the right mental point. In some cases 
the teacher would go through all the motions in arithmetic, yet, 
for lack of mental pressure, no improvement in accuracy would 

[ 206 ] 



APPENDIX 

result. It has also been apparent that pupils fail to increase 
their speed in typewriting term after term for lack of this mental 
pressure on the part of the teacher. In English, on the other 
hand, going through the routine produces more or less improve- 
ment in all classes, though teachers who bring the right mental 
pressure to bear get distinctly better results ; for instance, as did 
the teachers at Gary who handled Classes 52, 12, and 13, and 
48 and 49. On the other hand, the very capable teacher who 
handled the class in school B failed to get results in punctuation 
because she kept the emphasis on memorizing rules instead of 
on practice, while the teacher who handled Class 30 got excellent 
results in punctuation though inferior results in grammar, being 
an elocution teacher accustomed to develop emphasis through 
the voice, though unfamiliar with methods of teaching language 
(this was her first language class in many years). The teacher 
who handled Class 15b at Gary was a biology teacher who had 
not taught language for years, but being a very capable teacher 
in handling young people so as to make them work, she got 
superior results in both elementary and advanced grammar. 

At Racine, the most capable teachers were those handling 
Classes 1 and 2 at one school and Classes 19 and 20 at another 
school. The relative improvement is shown roughly by the 
percentage in arithmetic. They started highest and made most 
gain. When 100 per cent was reached, the class ceased to be 
measured. This meant that more than half the class made a 
perfect score, but the errors of the other half of the class would 
have brought the arithmetical average down. At Gary, Class 52 
showed two thirds of its members making 100 per cent, but the 
errors of the other third brought the average down to 95 per cent, 
and so a score of 98 per cent was assigned arbitrarily as fairest. 

This tends to prove that the top of the scale (near 100 per cent) 
is not harder to advance on than the lower parts, though averag- 
ing all the lower classes with all the higher it would be seen that 
there is an appreciable advantage in the lower ranges as marked by 
points of advancement. Low-grade classes have more opportuni- 
ties for improvement than those near the top, and so there is a 
slightly greater chance for them to score by picking the easier ones. 

[ 207 ] 



APPENDIX 



IMPROVEMENT IN SPELLING, GRAMMAR, AND PUNC- 
TUATION AFTER FIVE WEEKS OF DRILL, SPRING, 
1917, MEASURED BY NATIONAL BUSINESS ABILITY 
TESTS 

300 Pupils in 8th Grade, Gary. Superintendent William Wirt 
Supervision Mr. Cody, books in hands of pupils 



Elem. Spelling 



Opening Test 
Final Test 
Improvement 15 
Class drill 12 hrs. 



77% 
92% 



Elem. Gram. 

Opening 63 % 
Final 85.6% 
Improv. 
Drill 8 hrs. 



Adv. Gram. 



22.6 



Opening 
Final 
Improv. 
No drill 



64% 



Elem. 
Punctuation 
Opening 45% 
Final 63% 
Improv. 18 
Drill 8 hrs. 



Elem. Spelling 



200 Pupils in 7th Grade, Gary 



Opening Test 
Final Test 
Improvement 



73% 
91% 
18 



Elem. Gram. 



67% 



Opening 
Final 
Improv. 18 



Class drill 12 hrs. Drill 8 hrs. 



Adv. Gram. 



Opening 
Final 
Improv. 
Little drill 



'o 

72% 



Elem. 
Punctuation 
Opening 38% 
Final 55% 
Improv. 17 
Drill 8 hrs. 



600 Pupils, 8th Grade, Racine. Superintendent B. E. Nelson 
Supervision Mr. Cody, only teachers had books 



Elem. Spelling 

Opening Test 91.5% 
Final Test 96.8% 
Improvement 5.3 
Class drill 8 hrs. 



Elem. Gram. 



Opening 
Final 
Improv. 13.6 
Class drill 5 hrs. 



80 % 
93.6% 



Adv. Gram. 



Opening 
Final 
Improv. 
No drill 



73% 

73% 





Elem. 
Punctuation 
Opening 62 % 
Final 74.6% 
Improv. 12.6 
Drill 8 hrs. 






Elem. Spelling 

Opening Test 84.8% 
Final Test 93 % 



600 Pupils, 7th Grade, Racine 
Elem. Gram. Adv. Gram. 



Opening 70 % 
Final 89.5% 



Opening 
Final 



67% 
70% 
3 



Elem. 

Punctuation 

Opening 55 % 

Final 61.6% 

Improv. 



6.6 
Drill 8 hrs. 



Improvement 8.2 Improv. 19.5 Improv. 
Class drill 8 hrs. Drill 5 hrs. No drill 

Total errors in letter writing in Gary and Racine reduced 40% to 
50%, total errors in arithmetic reduced 34%. 

N.B. Notice that 7th grade makes relatively more improvement 
than 8th grade, and both far more in the short time given than the 

[ 208 ] 



APPENDIX 

original difference between the 7th and 8th grades, the result of one year 
of ordinary work. Parallel results on advanced grammar, where no 
drill was given, prove equality of two test papers. Home study about 
doubled the time stated. 

36 Pupils in 8th Grade, Doyle School, Flint, Michigan 
Following written directions, books in hands of pupils 

Elem. Spelling Elem. Gram. Adv. Gram. Full 

Punctuation 
Opening Test 82% Opening 81% Opening 76% Opening 66% 
Final Test 96.3% Final 93% Final 81% Final 85% 

Improvement 14.3 Improv. 14 Improv. 5 Improv. 19 
Class drill 14 hrs. Drill 14 hrs. No drill Drill 14 hrs. 

Errors in letter writing reduced 50%, in arithmetic 53.1%, in 14 hrs. 



[ 209 ] 



APPENDIX 

NEW YORK CITY 

Averages of Schools in Dr. Stitt's District 
8th Grade before Drills — December 12, 1917 

The National Averages here given were obtained by giving 
tests to carefully selected representative groups in such leading 
business houses in different parts of the country as the National 
Cash Register Co., Burroughs Adding Machine Co., Sears, 
Roebuck & Co., Marshall Field & Co., Commonwealth Edison 
Co., National Cloak & Suit Co., and Filene's (Boston). They 
are the averages for grammar-school graduates who had been 
passed by the employment managers, graduates of commercial 
departments of high schools tested at the schools* and experi- 
enced employees in these houses, such as first-class stenographers. 



National Averages 


Elem. 
Gram. 


Adv. Gram. 


Elem. 
Punc. 


Full Punc. 


Beginners (Gram. Sch.) . 
High-School Grads. . . 
Experienced Employees . 


72.5 
81 


77 
85 


65 

78 


60 

74 
74 




8A 

82.5 

70 

73 

80 

77.5 

74 

61 

85 

77.5 
82 

72.5 
72 


8B 


8A 


8B 


8A 


8B 


8A 


8B 


Public School A 
Public School B 
Public School C 
Public School D 
Public School E 
f Public School F 1 
\ Public School GI 
Public School H 
Public School I 
Public School J 
J Public School Kl 
\ Public School L( 


ic. 
?\ 

B 

jr . 


r 


85 

75 

79 

85 

86 

70 

63.5 

85 

80 

88.5 

71 

74 


71.5 

66 

69 

73 

71.5 

68 

64 

77 

70 

74 

74 

62 


74.5 

74 

73 

73 

74.5 

68 

66 

74.5 

71.5 

80.5 

68 

68 


68.5 

59 

66 

70 

59.5 

68 

46 

63.5 

74 

73 

69 

53 


67 

69 

66 

90 

67 

64 

49 

71.5 

76.5 

81.5 

63 

65 


63 

53 

58 

72 

50.5 

59 

47 

59 

69.5 

73 

65 

40 


62 

58 

61 

84 

61 

61 

45 

65 

69 

78.5 

57 

60 


District Averages . . . 


75.4 


78.5 


70 


72.1 


63.4 


69.1 


59.8 


63.6 



[ 210 J 



APPENDIX 

Class B was a half year ahead of Class A. Comparison 
shows the ordinary improvement in one semester. 

Classes were rated by taking the median or middle grade, but 
school records were made by averaging classes, 

When elementary tests show no higher than advanced, it is 
apparent that the teacher has made no effort to give first atten- 
tion to the points of practice most commonly used. Apart from 
the cases of one or two schools brought down by some one inferior 
class, equality of grades in A and B classes indicates emphasis 
on theoretical work rather than on practical command of tools. 

National Averages above are from grades made by persons 
who had never seen these tests before. When a second test is 
given after special drill upon the practical working tools here 
tested, comparison is made with records of schools which have 
taken drill, and by comparison with these figures the improvement 
of each class is measured. 

NEW YORK CITY — BROOKLYN 

Arithmetic Averages on National Tests in Dr. Veit's 

District 

8th Grade after Drill and Two Courtis Tests — December 18, 1917 

Speed in arithmetic comes readily with practice ; and in the 
routine of business, those who handle figures soon develop such 
high speed that comparison with school speeds is not of interest. 
The important thing in the eyes of the business man is the 
percentage of accuracy, and a moderately low speed with high 
accuracy is satisfactory. First-class bookkeeping departments 
show an unavoidable human error of about 1 per cent (verified 
by these tests) , to correct which all work is refigured by checkers 
and then refigured in the auditing department. At least half 
the expense in accounting is to eliminate the 1 per cent of 
unavoidable error. 

The following shows speed averages of ordinary grammar- 
school graduates and graduates of commercial departments of 
high schools who have not had special drill on rapid calculation, 
together with the average number of errors ; and then it shows 

[211 ] 



APPENDIX 

the estimated number of errors (B. Ers.) that satisfactory ac- 
countants would have made in doing the same number of problems 
regardless of the time it would have taken. " Speed " is the count 
of figures in all answers right and wrong, and "Errors" is the 
count of figures wrong. 



National Averages 


Addition 


Subtraction 


Multipli- 
cation 


Total 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B 

Ers. 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B 

Ers. 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B 

Ers. 


Sp. 


Ers. 


B 

Ers. 


Gram. -School Grads. 
High-School Grads. 


10 
15 


1.3 
1.3 


.33 
.5 


32 
51 


1.8 
1.2 


.3 
.5 


22 
46 


2 

2 


.5 
1 


64 
112 


5.1 

4.5 


1.1 
2 



A and B Classes in 16 Brooklyn Schools — Graph Page 195 



Public School A CI. 

A — 

Public School B — 



Public School 



Public School D — 

D — 
Public School E — 

E — 
Public School F — 

F — 
Public School G — 

G — 
Public School H — 

H — 
Public School I — 

I — 
Public School J — 

J — 
Public School K — 

K — 
Public School L — 

L — 
Public School M — 

M — 
Public School N — 

N — 
Public School O — 

O — 
Public School P — 

P — 
Dist. Av. of CI. A 
Dist. Av. of CI. B 



15 


.75 




55.5 


1.25 




33.5 


1 




104 


3 


17 


1 




61 


1.25 




34.5 






112 


3.65 


16 


1.7 




69 


1.33 




36 


1.7 




121 


4.75 


19 


1.33 




69 


1.66 




39 


1.33 




127 


4.33 


17 


1.33 




61 


1.4 




33 


1.17 




111 


3.9 


17 


2 




64 


1.7 




35 


1 




116 


4.7 


16 


1.5 




54.5 


2 




30 


2 




100 


5.2 


17 


1 




61 


1.5 




33.5 


1.5 




111.5 


4 


15 


1.7 




53 


1.7 




30 


2 




98 


4.4 


15 


1.35 




51 


1.33 




31 


1.8 




97 


4.46 


15 


1.25 




43.5 


1.5 




25.5 


1 




83 


3.75 


14 


1 




54.5 


1 




31 


1.5 




99 


3.5 


15.7 


1.4 




57 


1.75 




31 


2.1 




103.7 


5.25 


16 


1 




58 


1.3 




32 


1.3 




106 


3.6 


16.5 


1.5 




69 


1.5 




38.5 


1.4 




124 


4.4 


16.5 


1.5 




65 


1.5 




38 


1.5 




119.5 


4.5 


16 


1.25 




67.5 


1.5 




39.5 


1.8 




122 


4.5 


16 


.5 




67 


1.5 




37 


.5 




120 


2.5 


22 


2.5 




53 


2 




30 


2 




105 


6.5 


20 


1.5 




65 


1.5 




37 


2 




122 


5 


15 


.66 




55 


1 




28 


1.2 




98 


2.86 


14.5 


1.25 




53 


1.25 




31.5 


1 




98 


3.5 


20 


1.25 




68 


1.88 




37.5 


1.8 




125.5 


4.93 


19 


1.33 




68.5 


2 




38 


2 




117.5 


5.33 


16 


1 




48 


1 




37 


1.5 




101 


3.5 


13 







40 


1 




24 


1 




77 


2 


16 


1 




62 


1.5 




34 


1.7 




112 


4.2 


16 


1.25 




65.5 


2.25 




38.5 


1.5 




120 


5 


17 


1.66 




70 


2 




39 


2.33 




126 


6 


21 


1.66 




75 


2 




39 


2.33 




135 


6 


16 


.9 




59 


1.1 




29 


1.1 




104 


3.1 


18 


1.1 




71 


1.75 




40 


1.6 




129 


4.45 


16.4 


1.4 




58.4 


1.53 




33.2 


1.61 




108.7 


4.4 


17.75 


1.17 




61.8 


1.53 




35 


1.45 




112.9 


4.1 



[ 212 



APPENDIX 



COMPARISON OF COURTIS WITH NATIONAL RECORDS 
ON 4000 PUPILS IN BROOKLYN 

June-December, 1917 



Addition 




Speed 


Accuracy 




Couetis 


National 


DlFF. 


Courtis 


National 


DlFF. 


CI. A 
B 


13.9 
14.6 


16.4 
17.75 


2.5 
3.15 


75% 
78 


65.85 
73.63 


9.15 
4.37 


Subtraction 


CI. A 
B 


13.9 
14.7 


14.6 
15.2 


.7 
.5 


87 

87 


79.12 
79.21 


7.88 
7.79 


Multiplication 


CI. A 
B 


11.8 
13.2 


11.07 
11.7 


-.73 
-1.5 


80 
81 


70 

75.2 


10. 
5.8 



Courtis Tests were given in June, National in December. 
The Courtis record of problems attempted is here changed to 
count of figures for the proportion of time used in National 
Tests, but the record of accuracy used in the National Tests 
is changed to Courtis percentages. 

The Subtraction record is probably nearest to normal and 
least affected by change of habits since June, 1917. The 
National method of grading by counting figures wrong instead 
of problems wrong, reduced to the Courtis plan, is obviously 
about 10 per cent more severe than counting problems wrong. 

In Addition, copying problems obviously takes slightly less 
time than adding them up. So that in Addition the speed score 
for the National Tests is about 15 per cent higher than for the 
Courtis Tests. 

[ 213 ] 



APPENDIX 

The National method of counting all figures in answers and 
single wrong figures, instead of wrong problems where one 
figure wrong counts as the entire eight in the problem, is evi- 
dently fairer and nearer to business practice. The business 
standard is 99 per cent of accuracy. On the National Tests 
we can get the standard of accuracy most directly from the 
Subtraction test, where each figure represents a single operation 
as business men count them. The average in this Brooklyn 
district for Class A in Subtraction was Speed 58.4 and Errors 
1.53, a percentage of accuracy of 97.38 ; for Class B, Speed was 
61.8 and Errors 1.53, giving a percentage of accuracy of 97.5. 
This would be acceptable to business men for beginners. 

National records are changed to Courtis for comparison as 
follows : In Addition, problems are copied, which takes about as 
much time as adding them, so that about one fourth as many 
problems are handled as in the Courtis Test of 8 minutes. There 
are four figures in each answer, so the National speed in figures 
is the same as the Courtis speed in problems; but the errors 
should be multiplied by four, as under the Courtis plan one error 
in the answer to a problem would make the whole answer of 
four figures wrong. In Subtraction, the time is merely cut in 
half, so we double the speed record and double the errors. 
Then as there are eight figures in the answer, we divide the 
doubled speed by eight, while the errors stand as they are. 
The same applies to multiplication. As the National Test 
occupies but three minutes, while the Courtis Test occupies six, 
we double the speed and errors, and divide the National speed 
by six, the number of figures in the answers. There still remains 
the excess in number of errors due to counting figures instead of 
problems, corrected by deducting 10 per cent from the count 
of errors. 

Comparison of speed in Subtraction indicates that in the 
second half of the Courtis Test the speed is only slightly reduced, 
if at all, as probably this class has gained slightly in speed in six 
months. In Addition and Multiplication there has obviously 
been more improvement in Class B than in Class A, and the 
figures cannot be used as a safe basis for comparison. 

[ 214 ] 



INDEX 



Abase of standard tests, 49. 

Accuracy and speed, significance 
of, 32. 

Accuracy on fundamentals as vo- 
cational equipment, 6. 

Addition, test on, 88, 91. 

Addresses, writing, 36. 

Addressing envelopes, test on, 167. 

Alertness, mental, 57. 

Alphabetizing, 36, 169. 

Alpha series, U. S. army tests, 22. 

Answering letters, 41 ; test on, 142. 

Appendix, 203. 

Arithmetic, tests on fundamental, 
86; tests on business, 97; ob- 
jections to school problems, 40. 

Army tests, United States, 23. 

Army trade tests, 30. 

Blank, form for tabulating arith- 
metic, 87. 

Bookkeeping, 39 ; invoicing as test 
of, 70. 

Brooklyn, report of tests, 211. 

Bulletin No. 1, National tests, 14. 

Bulletins Nos. 2, 3, and 4, National 
tests, 17. 

Business, needs of high school the 
same as, 2; educational tests in, 
31. 

Business Ability Tests, National, 
10; two series, 56. 

Business men, how they judge ap- 
plicants, 4 ; cooperation between 
educators and, 7. 

Business practice tests, 36. 

Certificate for teachers, 50. 
Changing help, cost of, 5. 
Chicago, problem considered in, 1. 
Classroom, National tests in, 43. 
Courtis tests, shortened arithmetic, 

88; comparison with National, 

213. 

Distribution of frequencies, 192. 

Educational tests, in business, 31; 
and intelligence, 188. 



Educators and business men, co- 
operation between, 7. 

Efficiency increased by standard 
measurements, 5. 

Employment register, how prepared, 
196. 

English, tests on, 106. 

Envelopes, test on addressing, 167. 

Errors and percentage, count of, 183. 

Fairness of National tests, 43. 

Filing or alphabetizing, 36; test 
on, 167. 

Five, scale of, 187. 

Fractions, tests on, 97, 98. 

Frequencies, distribution of, 192. 

Fundamentals, accuracy on, as vo- 
cational equipment, 6. 

Gary, report of tests on language, 
205. 

General clerks, preparation of, 3. 

General directions for giving tests, 
56. 

Grading by pupils, feasibility of, 43. 

Grading tests, 178. 

Grammar, 35; tests on, 112; ele- 
mentary tests, 114, 117; ad- 
vanced tests, 115, 117. 

Graphs, 194, 195. 

Groves, J. W., report of, 202. 

Habit, measure of intelligence un- 
der influence of, 31. 

High schools, the needs of business 
the same as, 2. 

Hundred per cent standard, 18. 

Improvement, measuring, 52, 189. 
Improvement after drill, table of, 

208. _ 
Inspection of papers, 180. 
Instructions, reproducing, 33; test 

on, 63. 
Intelligence, educational tests and, 

188. 
Intelligence tests, psychological, 21. 
Interpreting results, 185. 

[£15 ] 



INDEX 



Letters, answering, 41; test on, 

142. 
Letter writing, elementary test on, 

133. 

Marks, scientific basis for school, 50. 

Measure of intelligence under in- 
fluence of habit, 31. 

Measurement, effects of, 7. 

Measurement of progress, tests as, 
46. 

Measuring classes and teachers, 175. 

Median, finding the, 181. 

Medians, class, more exact, 188. 

Mental alertness, test on, 57. 

Mimeograph, test on typewriter 
copying for, 164. 

Multiplication, test on, 90, 92. 

National Business Ability Tests, 
10 ; in classroom, 43 ; fairness of, 
43; subjects and methods; 33; 
two series of, 56. 

National committee, organization 
of, 10. 

New York, report of chamber of 
commerce, 1 ; employment list, 
200 ; report of tests, 210. 

Office positions, how men judge 
applicants for, 4. 

Organization of National Com- 
mittee, 10. 

Penmanship, test on, 167, 174. 
Percentage, test on, 101 ; count of 

errors and, 183. 
Persons tested, 15. 
Preparation of general clerks, 3. 
Principles of scientific tests, 21. 
Progress, tests as measurement of, 

46. 
Psychological intelligence tests, 21. 
Punctuation, 34 ; tests on, 116, 119. 
Pupils, feasibility of grading by, 43 ; 

value of tests to, 54. 

Racine, report of tests, 204. 
Register, efficiency employment, 
196. 



Reproducing instructions, 33; test 

on, 63. 
Results of tests, 15; interpreting, 

185. 

Scale of 5, 187. 

School marks, scientific basis for, 
50. 

Second test at end of six weeks, 48. 

Speed and accuracy, significance 
of, 32. 

Spelling, 33 ; tests on, 107. 

Standard, the 100 per cent, 18. 

Standard averages, 57 n. ; arithme- 
tic, 87; English, 113. 

Standard educational tests, limita- 
tions and advantages of, 32. 

Standard measurements, efficiency 
increased by, 5. 

Standard tests, abuse of, 49. 

Stenographic tests, 152. 

Subtraction, test on, 89, 91. 

Superintendents, tests given by, 
175. 

Tabulating the results of tests, 
178. 

Tabulation, 37; test on, 57. 

Teachers, certificate for, 50 ; meas- 
uring classes and, 175. 

Tests, earlier, 11 ; devising new, 
12; 'trying National, 14; re- 
sults of, 15; time required, 46; 
in classroom, 43; educational in 
business, 31 ; limitations of edu- 
cational, 32; value to pupils, 
54; grading, 178. 

Tests, National Business Ability, 
two series of, general directions 
for giving, 56. 

Tests, psychological intelligence, 21. 

Tests, United States Army, 23. 

Trade tests, United States Army, 
30. 

Typewriting, 37; tests on, 160, 163. 

■ 
Wages, graded scale of, 8. 
Writing addresses, 167, 174. 



216 ] 



H 171 84 
























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